ESV: Digging Deep into the Bible

Thanks for listening to this ESV podcast from Crossway. As of today, we have discontinued this show, but are excited to announce the launch of a number of new Bible podcasts that are now available. To learn more, visit crossway.org/ESVpodcasts.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 90 Psalm 90 (Listen) Book Four From Everlasting to Everlasting A Prayer of Moses, the man of God. 90   Lord, you have been our dwelling place1    in all generations.2   Before the mountains were brought forth,    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,    from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3   You return man to dust    and say, “Return, O children of man!”24   For a thousand years in your sight    are but as yesterday when it is past,    or as a watch in the night. 5   You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream,    like grass that is renewed in the morning:6   in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;    in the evening it fades and withers. 7   For we are brought to an end by your anger;    by your wrath we are dismayed.8   You have set our iniquities before you,    our secret sins in the light of your presence. 9   For all our days pass away under your wrath;    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.10   The years of our life are seventy,    or even by reason of strength eighty;  yet their span3 is but toil and trouble;    they are soon gone, and we fly away.11   Who considers the power of your anger,    and your wrath according to the fear of you? 12   So teach us to number our days    that we may get a heart of wisdom.13   Return, O LORD! How long?    Have pity on your servants!14   Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.15   Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,    and for as many years as we have seen evil.16   Let your work be shown to your servants,    and your glorious power to their children.17   Let the favor4 of the Lord our God be upon us,    and establish the work of our hands upon us;    yes, establish the work of our hands! Footnotes [1] 90:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Septuagint) our refuge [2] 90:3 Or of Adam [3] 90:10 Or pride [4] 90:17 Or beauty (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 42:7–17 Job 42:7–17 (Listen) The Lord Rebukes Job's Friends 7 After the LORD had spoken these words to Job, the LORD said to Eliphaz the Temanite: “My anger burns against you and against your two friends, for you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has. 8 Now therefore take seven bulls and seven rams and go to my servant Job and offer up a burnt offering for yourselves. And my servant Job shall pray for you, for I will accept his prayer not to deal with you according to your folly. For you have not spoken of me what is right, as my servant Job has.” 9 So Eliphaz the Temanite and Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite went and did what the LORD had told them, and the LORD accepted Job's prayer. The Lord Restores Job's Fortunes 10 And the LORD restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before. 11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil1 that the LORD had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money2 and a ring of gold. 12 And the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys. 13 He had also seven sons and three daughters. 14 And he called the name of the first daughter Jemimah, and the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-happuch. 15 And in all the land there were no women so beautiful as Job's daughters. And their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. 16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons' sons, four generations. 17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days. Footnotes [1] 42:11 Or disaster [2] 42:11 Hebrew a qesitah; a unit of money of unknown value (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 66 Isaiah 66 (Listen) The Humble and Contrite in Spirit 66   Thus says the LORD:  “Heaven is my throne,    and the earth is my footstool;  what is the house that you would build for me,    and what is the place of my rest?2   All these things my hand has made,    and so all these things came to be,      declares the LORD.  But this is the one to whom I will look:    he who is humble and contrite in spirit    and trembles at my word. 3   “He who slaughters an ox is like one who kills a man;    he who sacrifices a lamb, like one who breaks a dog's neck;  he who presents a grain offering, like one who offers pig's blood;    he who makes a memorial offering of frankincense, like one who blesses an idol.  These have chosen their own ways,    and their soul delights in their abominations;4   I also will choose harsh treatment for them    and bring their fears upon them,  because when I called, no one answered,    when I spoke, they did not listen;  but they did what was evil in my eyes    and chose that in which I did not delight.” 5   Hear the word of the LORD,    you who tremble at his word:  “Your brothers who hate you    and cast you out for my name's sake  have said, ‘Let the LORD be glorified,    that we may see your joy';    but it is they who shall be put to shame. 6   “The sound of an uproar from the city!    A sound from the temple!  The sound of the LORD,    rendering recompense to his enemies! Rejoice with Jerusalem 7   “Before she was in labor    she gave birth;  before her pain came upon her    she delivered a son.8   Who has heard such a thing?    Who has seen such things?  Shall a land be born in one day?    Shall a nation be brought forth in one moment?  For as soon as Zion was in labor    she brought forth her children.9   Shall I bring to the point of birth and not cause to bring forth?”    says the LORD;  “shall I, who cause to bring forth, shut the womb?”    says your God. 10   “Rejoice with Jerusalem, and be glad for her,    all you who love her;  rejoice with her in joy,    all you who mourn over her;11   that you may nurse and be satisfied    from her consoling breast;  that you may drink deeply with delight    from her glorious abundance.”1 12   For thus says the LORD:  “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river,    and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream;  and you shall nurse, you shall be carried upon her hip,    and bounced upon her knees.13   As one whom his mother comforts,    so I will comfort you;    you shall be comforted in Jerusalem.14   You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice;    your bones shall flourish like the grass;  and the hand of the LORD shall be known to his servants,    and he shall show his indignation against his enemies. Final Judgment and Glory of the Lord 15   “For behold, the LORD will come in fire,    and his chariots like the whirlwind,  to render his anger in fury,    and his rebuke with flames of fire.16   For by fire will the LORD enter into judgment,    and by his sword, with all flesh;    and those slain by the LORD shall be many. 17 “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go into the gardens, following one in the midst, eating pig's flesh and the abomination and mice, shall come to an end together, declares the LORD. 18 “For I know2 their works and their thoughts, and the time is coming3 to gather all nations and tongues. And they shall come and shall see my glory, 19 and I will set a sign among them. And from them I will send survivors to the nations, to Tarshish, Pul, and Lud, who draw the bow, to Tubal and Javan, to the coastlands far away, that have not heard my fame or seen my glory. And they shall declare my glory among the nations. 20 And they shall bring all your brothers from all the nations as an offering to the LORD, on horses and in chariots and in litters and on mules and on dromedaries, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, says the LORD, just as the Israelites bring their grain offering in a clean vessel to the house of the LORD. 21 And some of them also I will take for priests and for Levites, says the LORD. 22   “For as the new heavens and the new earth    that I make  shall remain before me, says the LORD,    so shall your offspring and your name remain.23   From new moon to new moon,    and from Sabbath to Sabbath,  all flesh shall come to worship before me,  declares the LORD. 24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.” Footnotes [1] 66:11 Or breast [2] 66:18 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew lacks know [3] 66:18 Hebrew and it is coming (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 22:6–21 Revelation 22:6–21 (Listen) Jesus Is Coming 6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” 7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” 8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.” 10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.” 12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes,1 so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood. 16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.” 17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. 18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.2 Amen. Footnotes [1] 22:14 Some manuscripts do his commandments [2] 22:21 Some manuscripts all the saints (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 150 Psalm 150 (Listen) Let Everything Praise the Lord 150   Praise the LORD!  Praise God in his sanctuary;    praise him in his mighty heavens!12   Praise him for his mighty deeds;    praise him according to his excellent greatness! 3   Praise him with trumpet sound;    praise him with lute and harp!4   Praise him with tambourine and dance;    praise him with strings and pipe!5   Praise him with sounding cymbals;    praise him with loud clashing cymbals!6   Let everything that has breath praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 150:1 Hebrew expanse (compare Genesis 1:6–8) (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 40:6–42:6 Job 40:6–42:6 (Listen) The Lord Challenges Job 6 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 7   “Dress for action1 like a man;    I will question you, and you make it known to me.8   Will you even put me in the wrong?    Will you condemn me that you may be in the right?9   Have you an arm like God,    and can you thunder with a voice like his? 10   “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity;    clothe yourself with glory and splendor.11   Pour out the overflowings of your anger,    and look on everyone who is proud and abase him.12   Look on everyone who is proud and bring him low    and tread down the wicked where they stand.13   Hide them all in the dust together;    bind their faces in the world below.214   Then will I also acknowledge to you    that your own right hand can save you. 15   “Behold, Behemoth,3    which I made as I made you;    he eats grass like an ox.16   Behold, his strength in his loins,    and his power in the muscles of his belly.17   He makes his tail stiff like a cedar;    the sinews of his thighs are knit together.18   His bones are tubes of bronze,    his limbs like bars of iron. 19   “He is the first of the works4 of God;    let him who made him bring near his sword!20   For the mountains yield food for him    where all the wild beasts play.21   Under the lotus plants he lies,    in the shelter of the reeds and in the marsh.22   For his shade the lotus trees cover him;    the willows of the brook surround him.23   Behold, if the river is turbulent he is not frightened;    he is confident though Jordan rushes against his mouth.24   Can one take him by his eyes,5    or pierce his nose with a snare? 41   6 “Can you draw out Leviathan7 with a fishhook    or press down his tongue with a cord?2   Can you put a rope in his nose    or pierce his jaw with a hook?3   Will he make many pleas to you?    Will he speak to you soft words?4   Will he make a covenant with you    to take him for your servant forever?5   Will you play with him as with a bird,    or will you put him on a leash for your girls?6   Will traders bargain over him?    Will they divide him up among the merchants?7   Can you fill his skin with harpoons    or his head with fishing spears?8   Lay your hands on him;    remember the battle—you will not do it again!9   8 Behold, the hope of a man is false;    he is laid low even at the sight of him.10   No one is so fierce that he dares to stir him up.    Who then is he who can stand before me?11   Who has first given to me, that I should repay him?    Whatever is under the whole heaven is mine. 12   “I will not keep silence concerning his limbs,    or his mighty strength, or his goodly frame.13   Who can strip off his outer garment?    Who would come near him with a bridle?14   Who can open the doors of his face?    Around his teeth is terror.15   His back is made of9 rows of shields,    shut up closely as with a seal.16   One is so near to another    that no air can come between them.17   They are joined one to another;    they clasp each other and cannot be separated.18   His sneezings flash forth light,    and his eyes are like the eyelids of the dawn.19   Out of his mouth go flaming torches;    sparks of fire leap forth.20   Out of his nostrils comes forth smoke,    as from a boiling pot and burning rushes.21   His breath kindles coals,    and a flame comes forth from his mouth.22   In his neck abides strength,    and terror dances before him.23   The folds of his flesh stick together,    firmly cast on him and immovable.24   His heart is hard as a stone,    hard as the lower millstone.25   When he raises himself up, the mighty10 are afraid;    at the crashing they are beside themselves.26   Though the sword reaches him, it does not avail,    nor the spear, the dart, or the javelin.27   He counts iron as straw,    and bronze as rotten wood.28   The arrow cannot make him flee;    for him, sling stones are turned to stubble.29   Clubs are counted as stubble;    he laughs at the rattle of javelins.30   His underparts are like sharp potsherds;    he spreads himself like a threshing sledge on the mire.31   He makes the deep boil like a pot;    he makes the sea like a pot of ointment.32   Behind him he leaves a shining wake;    one would think the deep to be white-haired.33   On earth there is not his like,    a creature without fear.34   He sees everything that is high;    he is king over all the sons of pride.” Job's Confession and Repentance 42 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 2   “I know that you can do all things,    and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted.3   ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?'  Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand,    things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.4   ‘Hear, and I will speak;    I will question you, and you make it known to me.'5   I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear,    but now my eye sees you;6   therefore I despise myself,    and repent11 in dust and ashes.” Footnotes [1] 40:7 Hebrew Gird up your loins [2] 40:13 Hebrew in the hidden place [3] 40:15 A large animal, exact identity unknown [4] 40:19 Hebrew ways [5] 40:24 Or in his sight [6] 41:1 Ch 40:25 in Hebrew [7] 41:1 A large sea animal, exact identity unknown [8] 41:9 Ch 41:1 in Hebrew [9] 41:15 Or His pride is in his [10] 41:25 Or gods [11] 42:6 Or and am comforted (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 65 Isaiah 65 (Listen) Judgment and Salvation 65   I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me;    I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me.  I said, “Here I am, here I am,”    to a nation that was not called by1 my name.2   I spread out my hands all the day    to a rebellious people,  who walk in a way that is not good,    following their own devices;3   a people who provoke me    to my face continually,  sacrificing in gardens    and making offerings on bricks;4   who sit in tombs,    and spend the night in secret places;  who eat pig's flesh,    and broth of tainted meat is in their vessels;5   who say, “Keep to yourself,    do not come near me, for I am too holy for you.”  These are a smoke in my nostrils,    a fire that burns all the day.6   Behold, it is written before me:    “I will not keep silent, but I will repay;  I will indeed repay into their lap7     both your iniquities and your fathers' iniquities together,      says the LORD;  because they made offerings on the mountains    and insulted me on the hills,  I will measure into their lap    payment for their former deeds.”2 8   Thus says the LORD:  “As the new wine is found in the cluster,    and they say, ‘Do not destroy it,    for there is a blessing in it,'  so I will do for my servants' sake,    and not destroy them all.9   I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,    and from Judah possessors of my mountains;  my chosen shall possess it,    and my servants shall dwell there.10   Sharon shall become a pasture for flocks,    and the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down,    for my people who have sought me.11   But you who forsake the LORD,    who forget my holy mountain,  who set a table for Fortune    and fill cups of mixed wine for Destiny,12   I will destine you to the sword,    and all of you shall bow down to the slaughter,  because, when I called, you did not answer;    when I spoke, you did not listen,  but you did what was evil in my eyes    and chose what I did not delight in.” 13   Therefore thus says the Lord GOD:  “Behold, my servants shall eat,    but you shall be hungry;  behold, my servants shall drink,    but you shall be thirsty;  behold, my servants shall rejoice,    but you shall be put to shame;14   behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,    but you shall cry out for pain of heart    and shall wail for breaking of spirit.15   You shall leave your name to my chosen for a curse,    and the Lord GOD will put you to death,    but his servants he will call by another name,16   so that he who blesses himself in the land    shall bless himself by the God of truth,  and he who takes an oath in the land    shall swear by the God of truth;  because the former troubles are forgotten    and are hidden from my eyes. New Heavens and a New Earth 17   “For behold, I create new heavens    and a new earth,  and the former things shall not be remembered    or come into mind.18   But be glad and rejoice forever    in that which I create;  for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy,    and her people to be a gladness.19   I will rejoice in Jerusalem    and be glad in my people;  no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping    and the cry of distress.20   No more shall there be in it    an infant who lives but a few days,    or an old man who does not fill out his days,  for the young man shall die a hundred years old,    and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.21   They shall build houses and inhabit them;    they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit.22   They shall not build and another inhabit;    they shall not plant and another eat;  for like the days of a tree shall the days of my people be,    and my chosen shall long enjoy3 the work of their hands.23   They shall not labor in vain    or bear children for calamity,4  for they shall be the offspring of the blessed of the LORD,    and their descendants with them.24   Before they call I will answer;    while they are yet speaking I will hear.25   The wolf and the lamb shall graze together;    the lion shall eat straw like the ox,    and dust shall be the serpent's food.  They shall not hurt or destroy    in all my holy mountain,”

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 149 Psalm 149 (Listen) Sing to the Lord a New Song 149   Praise the LORD!  Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise in the assembly of the godly!2   Let Israel be glad in his Maker;    let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!3   Let them praise his name with dancing,    making melody to him with tambourine and lyre!4   For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;    he adorns the humble with salvation.5   Let the godly exult in glory;    let them sing for joy on their beds.6   Let the high praises of God be in their throats    and two-edged swords in their hands,7   to execute vengeance on the nations    and punishments on the peoples,8   to bind their kings with chains    and their nobles with fetters of iron,9   to execute on them the judgment written!    This is honor for all his godly ones.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 39–40:5 Job 39–40:5 (Listen) 39   “Do you know when the mountain goats give birth?    Do you observe the calving of the does?2   Can you number the months that they fulfill,    and do you know the time when they give birth,3   when they crouch, bring forth their offspring,    and are delivered of their young?4   Their young ones become strong; they grow up in the open;    they go out and do not return to them. 5   “Who has let the wild donkey go free?    Who has loosed the bonds of the swift donkey,6   to whom I have given the arid plain for his home    and the salt land for his dwelling place?7   He scorns the tumult of the city;    he hears not the shouts of the driver.8   He ranges the mountains as his pasture,    and he searches after every green thing. 9   “Is the wild ox willing to serve you?    Will he spend the night at your manger?10   Can you bind him in the furrow with ropes,    or will he harrow the valleys after you?11   Will you depend on him because his strength is great,    and will you leave to him your labor?12   Do you have faith in him that he will return your grain    and gather it to your threshing floor? 13   “The wings of the ostrich wave proudly,    but are they the pinions and plumage of love?114   For she leaves her eggs to the earth    and lets them be warmed on the ground,15   forgetting that a foot may crush them    and that the wild beast may trample them.16   She deals cruelly with her young, as if they were not hers;    though her labor be in vain, yet she has no fear,17   because God has made her forget wisdom    and given her no share in understanding.18   When she rouses herself to flee,2    she laughs at the horse and his rider. 19   “Do you give the horse his might?    Do you clothe his neck with a mane?20   Do you make him leap like the locust?    His majestic snorting is terrifying.21   He paws3 in the valley and exults in his strength;    he goes out to meet the weapons.22   He laughs at fear and is not dismayed;    he does not turn back from the sword.23   Upon him rattle the quiver,    the flashing spear, and the javelin.24   With fierceness and rage he swallows the ground;    he cannot stand still at the sound of the trumpet.25   When the trumpet sounds, he says ‘Aha!'    He smells the battle from afar,    the thunder of the captains, and the shouting. 26   “Is it by your understanding that the hawk soars    and spreads his wings toward the south?27   Is it at your command that the eagle mounts up    and makes his nest on high?28   On the rock he dwells and makes his home,    on the rocky crag and stronghold.29   From there he spies out the prey;    his eyes behold it from far away.30   His young ones suck up blood,    and where the slain are, there is he.” 40 And the LORD said to Job: 2   “Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty?    He who argues with God, let him answer it.” Job Promises Silence 3 Then Job answered the LORD and said: 4   “Behold, I am of small account; what shall I answer you?    I lay my hand on my mouth.5   I have spoken once, and I will not answer;    twice, but I will proceed no further.” Footnotes [1] 39:13 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 39:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 39:21 Hebrew They paw (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 63–64 Isaiah 63–64 (Listen) The Lord's Day of Vengeance 63   Who is this who comes from Edom,    in crimsoned garments from Bozrah,  he who is splendid in his apparel,    marching in the greatness of his strength?  “It is I, speaking in righteousness,    mighty to save.” 2   Why is your apparel red,    and your garments like his who treads in the winepress? 3   “I have trodden the winepress alone,    and from the peoples no one was with me;  I trod them in my anger    and trampled them in my wrath;  their lifeblood1 spattered on my garments,    and stained all my apparel.4   For the day of vengeance was in my heart,    and my year of redemption2 had come.5   I looked, but there was no one to help;    I was appalled, but there was no one to uphold;  so my own arm brought me salvation,    and my wrath upheld me.6   I trampled down the peoples in my anger;    I made them drunk in my wrath,    and I poured out their lifeblood on the earth.” The Lord's Mercy Remembered 7   I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD,    the praises of the LORD,  according to all that the LORD has granted us,    and the great goodness to the house of Israel  that he has granted them according to his compassion,    according to the abundance of his steadfast love.8   For he said, “Surely they are my people,    children who will not deal falsely.”    And he became their Savior.9   In all their affliction he was afflicted,3    and the angel of his presence saved them;  in his love and in his pity he redeemed them;    he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old. 10   But they rebelled    and grieved his Holy Spirit;  therefore he turned to be their enemy,    and himself fought against them.11   Then he remembered the days of old,    of Moses and his people.4  Where is he who brought them up out of the sea    with the shepherds of his flock?  Where is he who put in the midst of them    his Holy Spirit,12   who caused his glorious arm    to go at the right hand of Moses,  who divided the waters before them    to make for himself an everlasting name,13     who led them through the depths?  Like a horse in the desert,    they did not stumble.14   Like livestock that go down into the valley,    the Spirit of the LORD gave them rest.  So you led your people,    to make for yourself a glorious name. Prayer for Mercy 15   Look down from heaven and see,    from your holy and beautiful5 habitation.  Where are your zeal and your might?    The stirring of your inner parts and your compassion    are held back from me.16   For you are our Father,    though Abraham does not know us,    and Israel does not acknowledge us;  you, O LORD, are our Father,    our Redeemer from of old is your name.17   O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways    and harden our heart, so that we fear you not?  Return for the sake of your servants,    the tribes of your heritage.18   Your holy people held possession for a little while;6    our adversaries have trampled down your sanctuary.19   We have become like those over whom you have never ruled,    like those who are not called by your name. 64   Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,    that the mountains might quake at your presence—2   7 as when fire kindles brushwood    and the fire causes water to boil—  to make your name known to your adversaries,    and that the nations might tremble at your presence!3   When you did awesome things that we did not look for,    you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.4   From of old no one has heard    or perceived by the ear,  no eye has seen a God besides you,    who acts for those who wait for him.5   You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,    those who remember you in your ways.  Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;    in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?86   We have all become like one who is unclean,    and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.  We all fade like a leaf,    and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.7   There is no one who calls upon your name,    who rouses himself to take hold of you;  for you have hidden your face from us,    and have made us melt in9 the hand of our iniquities. 8   But now, O LORD, you are our Father;    we are the clay, and you are our potter;    we are all the work of your hand.9   Be not so terribly angry, O LORD,    and remember not iniquity forever.    Behold, please look, we are all your people.10   Your holy cities have become a wilderness;    Zion has become a wilderness,    Jerusalem a desolation.11   Our holy and beautiful10 house,    where our fathers praised you,  has been burned by fire,    and all our pleasant places have become ruins.12   Will you restrain yourself at these things, O LORD?    Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly? Footnotes [1] 63:3 Or their juice; also verse 6 [2] 63:4 Or the year of my redeemed [3] 63:9 Or he did not afflict [4] 63:11 Or Then his people remembered the days of old, of Moses [5] 63:15 Or holy and glorious [6] 63:18 Or They have dispossessed your holy people for a little while [7] 64:2 Ch 64:1 in Hebrew [8] 64:5 Or in your ways is continuance, that we might be saved [9] 64:7 Masoretic Text; Septuagint, Syriac, Targum have delivered us into [10] 64:11 Or holy and glorious (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 20 Revelation 20 (Listen) The Thousand Years 20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit1 and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while. 4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. The Defeat of Satan 7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven2 and consumed them, 10 and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Judgment Before the Great White Throne 11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Footnotes [1] 20:1 Greek the abyss; also verse 3 [2] 20:9 Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 148 Psalm 148 (Listen) Praise the Name of the Lord 148   Praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD from the heavens;    praise him in the heights!2   Praise him, all his angels;    praise him, all his hosts! 3   Praise him, sun and moon,    praise him, all you shining stars!4   Praise him, you highest heavens,    and you waters above the heavens! 5   Let them praise the name of the LORD!    For he commanded and they were created.6   And he established them forever and ever;    he gave a decree, and it shall not pass away.1 7   Praise the LORD from the earth,    you great sea creatures and all deeps,8   fire and hail, snow and mist,    stormy wind fulfilling his word! 9   Mountains and all hills,    fruit trees and all cedars!10   Beasts and all livestock,    creeping things and flying birds! 11   Kings of the earth and all peoples,    princes and all rulers of the earth!12   Young men and maidens together,    old men and children! 13   Let them praise the name of the LORD,    for his name alone is exalted;    his majesty is above earth and heaven.14   He has raised up a horn for his people,    praise for all his saints,    for the people of Israel who are near to him.  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 148:6 Or it shall not be transgressed (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 38 Job 38 (Listen) The Lord Answers Job 38 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: 2   “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge?3   Dress for action1 like a man;    I will question you, and you make it known to me. 4   “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?    Tell me, if you have understanding.5   Who determined its measurements—surely you know!    Or who stretched the line upon it?6   On what were its bases sunk,    or who laid its cornerstone,7   when the morning stars sang together    and all the sons of God shouted for joy? 8   “Or who shut in the sea with doors    when it burst out from the womb,9   when I made clouds its garment    and thick darkness its swaddling band,10   and prescribed limits for it    and set bars and doors,11   and said, ‘Thus far shall you come, and no farther,    and here shall your proud waves be stayed'? 12   “Have you commanded the morning since your days began,    and caused the dawn to know its place,13   that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth,    and the wicked be shaken out of it?14   It is changed like clay under the seal,    and its features stand out like a garment.15   From the wicked their light is withheld,    and their uplifted arm is broken. 16   “Have you entered into the springs of the sea,    or walked in the recesses of the deep?17   Have the gates of death been revealed to you,    or have you seen the gates of deep darkness?18   Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth?    Declare, if you know all this. 19   “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,    and where is the place of darkness,20   that you may take it to its territory    and that you may discern the paths to its home?21   You know, for you were born then,    and the number of your days is great! 22   “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,    or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,23   which I have reserved for the time of trouble,    for the day of battle and war?24   What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,    or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth? 25   “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain    and a way for the thunderbolt,26   to bring rain on a land where no man is,    on the desert in which there is no man,27   to satisfy the waste and desolate land,    and to make the ground sprout with grass? 28   “Has the rain a father,    or who has begotten the drops of dew?29   From whose womb did the ice come forth,    and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?30   The waters become hard like stone,    and the face of the deep is frozen. 31   “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades    or loose the cords of Orion?32   Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth2 in their season,    or can you guide the Bear with its children?33   Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?    Can you establish their rule on the earth? 34   “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,    that a flood of waters may cover you?35   Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go    and say to you, ‘Here we are'?36   Who has put wisdom in the inward parts3    or given understanding to the mind?437   Who can number the clouds by wisdom?    Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,38   when the dust runs into a mass    and the clods stick fast together? 39   “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,    or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,40   when they crouch in their dens    or lie in wait in their thicket?41   Who provides for the raven its prey,    when its young ones cry to God for help,    and wander about for lack of food? Footnotes [1] 38:3 Hebrew Gird up your loins [2] 38:32 Probably the name of a constellation [3] 38:36 Or in the ibis [4] 38:36 Or rooster (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 61–62 Isaiah 61–62 (Listen) The Year of the Lord's Favor 61   The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,    because the LORD has anointed me  to bring good news to the poor;1    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,  to proclaim liberty to the captives,    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;22   to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor,    and the day of vengeance of our God;    to comfort all who mourn;3   to grant to those who mourn in Zion—    to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,  the oil of gladness instead of mourning,    the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;  that they may be called oaks of righteousness,    the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified.34   They shall build up the ancient ruins;    they shall raise up the former devastations;  they shall repair the ruined cities,    the devastations of many generations. 5   Strangers shall stand and tend your flocks;    foreigners shall be your plowmen and vinedressers;6   but you shall be called the priests of the LORD;    they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God;  you shall eat the wealth of the nations,    and in their glory you shall boast.7   Instead of your shame there shall be a double portion;    instead of dishonor they shall rejoice in their lot;  therefore in their land they shall possess a double portion;    they shall have everlasting joy. 8   For I the LORD love justice;    I hate robbery and wrong;4  I will faithfully give them their recompense,    and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.9   Their offspring shall be known among the nations,    and their descendants in the midst of the peoples;  all who see them shall acknowledge them,    that they are an offspring the LORD has blessed. 10   I will greatly rejoice in the LORD;    my soul shall exult in my God,  for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation;    he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,  as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress,    and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.11   For as the earth brings forth its sprouts,    and as a garden causes what is sown in it to sprout up,  so the Lord GOD will cause righteousness and praise    to sprout up before all the nations. Zion's Coming Salvation 62   For Zion's sake I will not keep silent,    and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet,  until her righteousness goes forth as brightness,    and her salvation as a burning torch.2   The nations shall see your righteousness,    and all the kings your glory,  and you shall be called by a new name    that the mouth of the LORD will give.3   You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD,    and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.4   You shall no more be termed Forsaken,5    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,6  but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,7    and your land Married;8  for the LORD delights in you,    and your land shall be married.5   For as a young man marries a young woman,    so shall your sons marry you,  and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride,    so shall your God rejoice over you. 6   On your walls, O Jerusalem,    I have set watchmen;  all the day and all the night    they shall never be silent.  You who put the LORD in remembrance,    take no rest,7   and give him no rest    until he establishes Jerusalem    and makes it a praise in the earth.8   The LORD has sworn by his right hand    and by his mighty arm:  “I will not again give your grain    to be food for your enemies,  and foreigners shall not drink your wine    for which you have labored;9   but those who garner it shall eat it    and praise the LORD,  and those who gather it shall drink it    in the courts of my sanctuary.”9 10   Go through, go through the gates;    prepare the way for the people;  build up, build up the highway;    clear it of stones;    lift up a signal over the peoples.11   Behold, the LORD has proclaimed    to the end of the earth:  Say to the daughter of Zion,    “Behold, your salvation comes;  behold, his reward is with him,    and his recompense before him.”12   And they shall be called The Holy People,    The Redeemed of the LORD;  and you shall be called Sought Out,    A City Not Forsaken. Footnotes [1] 61:1 Or afflicted [2] 61:1 Or the opening [of the eyes] to those who are blind; Septuagint and recovery of sight to the blind [3] 61:3 Or that he may display his beauty [4] 61:8 Or robbery with a burnt offering [5] 62:4 Hebrew Azubah [6] 62:4 Hebrew Shemamah [7] 62:4 Hebrew Hephzibah [8] 62:4 Hebrew Beulah [9] 62:9 Or in my holy courts (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 19 Revelation 19 (Listen) Rejoicing in Heaven 19 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out,   “Hallelujah!  Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,2     for his judgments are true and just;  for he has judged the great prostitute    who corrupted the earth with her immorality,  and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.” 3 Once more they cried out,   “Hallelujah!  The smoke from her goes up forever and

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 147 Psalm 147 (Listen) He Heals the Brokenhearted 147   Praise the LORD!  For it is good to sing praises to our God;    for it is pleasant,1 and a song of praise is fitting.2   The LORD builds up Jerusalem;    he gathers the outcasts of Israel.3   He heals the brokenhearted    and binds up their wounds.4   He determines the number of the stars;    he gives to all of them their names.5   Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;    his understanding is beyond measure.6   The LORD lifts up the humble;2    he casts the wicked to the ground. 7   Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;    make melody to our God on the lyre!8   He covers the heavens with clouds;    he prepares rain for the earth;    he makes grass grow on the hills.9   He gives to the beasts their food,    and to the young ravens that cry.10   His delight is not in the strength of the horse,    nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,11   but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,    in those who hope in his steadfast love. 12   Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!    Praise your God, O Zion!13   For he strengthens the bars of your gates;    he blesses your children within you.14   He makes peace in your borders;    he fills you with the finest of the wheat.15   He sends out his command to the earth;    his word runs swiftly.16   He gives snow like wool;    he scatters frost like ashes.17   He hurls down his crystals of ice like crumbs;    who can stand before his cold?18   He sends out his word, and melts them;    he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.19   He declares his word to Jacob,    his statutes and rules3 to Israel.20   He has not dealt thus with any other nation;    they do not know his rules.4  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 147:1 Or for he is beautiful [2] 147:6 Or afflicted [3] 147:19 Or and just decrees [4] 147:20 Or his just decrees (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 36:22–37:24 Job 36:22–37:24 (Listen) 22   Behold, God is exalted in his power;    who is a teacher like him?23   Who has prescribed for him his way,    or who can say, ‘You have done wrong'? 24   “Remember to extol his work,    of which men have sung.25   All mankind has looked on it;    man beholds it from afar.26   Behold, God is great, and we know him not;    the number of his years is unsearchable.27   For he draws up the drops of water;    they distill his mist in rain,28   which the skies pour down    and drop on mankind abundantly.29   Can anyone understand the spreading of the clouds,    the thunderings of his pavilion?30   Behold, he scatters his lightning about him    and covers the roots of the sea.31   For by these he judges peoples;    he gives food in abundance.32   He covers his hands with the lightning    and commands it to strike the mark.33   Its crashing declares his presence;1    the cattle also declare that he rises. Elihu Proclaims God's Majesty 37   “At this also my heart trembles    and leaps out of its place.2   Keep listening to the thunder of his voice    and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.3   Under the whole heaven he lets it go,    and his lightning to the corners of the earth.4   After it his voice roars;    he thunders with his majestic voice,    and he does not restrain the lightnings2 when his voice is heard.5   God thunders wondrously with his voice;    he does great things that we cannot comprehend.6   For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,'    likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.7   He seals up the hand of every man,    that all men whom he made may know it.8   Then the beasts go into their lairs,    and remain in their dens.9   From its chamber comes the whirlwind,    and cold from the scattering winds.10   By the breath of God ice is given,    and the broad waters are frozen fast.11   He loads the thick cloud with moisture;    the clouds scatter his lightning.12   They turn around and around by his guidance,    to accomplish all that he commands them    on the face of the habitable world.13   Whether for correction or for his land    or for love, he causes it to happen. 14   “Hear this, O Job;    stop and consider the wondrous works of God.15   Do you know how God lays his command upon them    and causes the lightning of his cloud to shine?16   Do you know the balancings3 of the clouds,    the wondrous works of him who is perfect in knowledge,17   you whose garments are hot    when the earth is still because of the south wind?18   Can you, like him, spread out the skies,    hard as a cast metal mirror?19   Teach us what we shall say to him;    we cannot draw up our case because of darkness.20   Shall it be told him that I would speak?    Did a man ever wish that he would be swallowed up? 21   “And now no one looks on the light    when it is bright in the skies,    when the wind has passed and cleared them.22   Out of the north comes golden splendor;    God is clothed with awesome majesty.23   The Almighty—we cannot find him;    he is great in power;    justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.24   Therefore men fear him;    he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”4 Footnotes [1] 36:33 Hebrew declares concerning him [2] 37:4 Hebrew them [3] 37:16 Or hoverings [4] 37:24 Hebrew in heart (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 60 Isaiah 60 (Listen) The Future Glory of Israel 60   Arise, shine, for your light has come,    and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you.2   For behold, darkness shall cover the earth,    and thick darkness the peoples;  but the LORD will arise upon you,    and his glory will be seen upon you.3   And nations shall come to your light,    and kings to the brightness of your rising. 4   Lift up your eyes all around, and see;    they all gather together, they come to you;  your sons shall come from afar,    and your daughters shall be carried on the hip.5   Then you shall see and be radiant;    your heart shall thrill and exult,1  because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,    the wealth of the nations shall come to you.6   A multitude of camels shall cover you,    the young camels of Midian and Ephah;    all those from Sheba shall come.  They shall bring gold and frankincense,    and shall bring good news, the praises of the LORD.7   All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered to you;    the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you;  they shall come up with acceptance on my altar,    and I will beautify my beautiful house. 8   Who are these that fly like a cloud,    and like doves to their windows?9   For the coastlands shall hope for me,    the ships of Tarshish first,  to bring your children from afar,    their silver and gold with them,  for the name of the LORD your God,    and for the Holy One of Israel,    because he has made you beautiful. 10   Foreigners shall build up your walls,    and their kings shall minister to you;  for in my wrath I struck you,    but in my favor I have had mercy on you.11   Your gates shall be open continually;    day and night they shall not be shut,  that people may bring to you the wealth of the nations,    with their kings led in procession.12   For the nation and kingdom    that will not serve you shall perish;    those nations shall be utterly laid waste.13   The glory of Lebanon shall come to you,    the cypress, the plane, and the pine,  to beautify the place of my sanctuary,    and I will make the place of my feet glorious.14   The sons of those who afflicted you    shall come bending low to you,  and all who despised you    shall bow down at your feet;  they shall call you the City of the LORD,    the Zion of the Holy One of Israel. 15   Whereas you have been forsaken and hated,    with no one passing through,  I will make you majestic forever,    a joy from age to age.16   You shall suck the milk of nations;    you shall nurse at the breast of kings;  and you shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior    and your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. 17   Instead of bronze I will bring gold,    and instead of iron I will bring silver;  instead of wood, bronze,    instead of stones, iron.  I will make your overseers peace    and your taskmasters righteousness.18   Violence shall no more be heard in your land,    devastation or destruction within your borders;  you shall call your walls Salvation,    and your gates Praise. 19   The sun shall be no more    your light by day,  nor for brightness shall the moon    give you light;2  but the LORD will be your everlasting light,    and your God will be your glory.320   Your sun shall no more go down,    nor your moon withdraw itself;  for the LORD will be your everlasting light,    and your days of mourning shall be ended.21   Your people shall all be righteous;    they shall possess the land forever,  the branch of my planting, the work of my hands,    that I might be glorified.422   The least one shall become a clan,    and the smallest one a mighty nation;  I am the LORD;    in its time I will hasten it. Footnotes [1] 60:5 Hebrew your heart shall tremble and grow wide [2] 60:19 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Targum add by night [3] 60:19 Or your beauty [4] 60:21 Or that I might display my beauty (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 18 Revelation 18 (Listen) The Fall of Babylon 18 After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. 2 And he called out with a mighty voice,   “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!    She has become a dwelling place for demons,  a haunt for every unclean spirit,    a haunt for every unclean bird,    a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.3   For all nations have drunk1    the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality,  and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her,    and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living.” 4 Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,   “Come out of her, my people,    lest you take part in her sins,  lest you share in her plagues;5   for her sins are heaped high as heaven,    and God has remembered her iniquities.6   Pay her back as she herself has paid back others,    and repay her double for her deeds;    mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed.7   As she glorified herself and lived in luxury,    so give her a like measure of torment and mourning,  since in her heart she says,    ‘I sit as a queen,  I am no widow,    and mourning I shall neve

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 146 Psalm 146 (Listen) Put Not Your Trust in Princes 146   Praise the LORD!  Praise the LORD, O my soul!2   I will praise the LORD as long as I live;    I will sing praises to my God while I have my being. 3   Put not your trust in princes,    in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.4   When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;    on that very day his plans perish. 5   Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,    whose hope is in the LORD his God,6   who made heaven and earth,    the sea, and all that is in them,  who keeps faith forever;7     who executes justice for the oppressed,    who gives food to the hungry.   The LORD sets the prisoners free;8     the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.  The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;    the LORD loves the righteous.9   The LORD watches over the sojourners;    he upholds the widow and the fatherless,    but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin. 10   The LORD will reign forever,    your God, O Zion, to all generations.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 36:1–21 Job 36:1–21 (Listen) Elihu Extols God's Greatness 36 And Elihu continued, and said: 2   “Bear with me a little, and I will show you,    for I have yet something to say on God's behalf.3   I will get my knowledge from afar    and ascribe righteousness to my Maker.4   For truly my words are not false;    one who is perfect in knowledge is with you. 5   “Behold, God is mighty, and does not despise any;    he is mighty in strength of understanding.6   He does not keep the wicked alive,    but gives the afflicted their right.7   He does not withdraw his eyes from the righteous,    but with kings on the throne    he sets them forever, and they are exalted.8   And if they are bound in chains    and caught in the cords of affliction,9   then he declares to them their work    and their transgressions, that they are behaving arrogantly.10   He opens their ears to instruction    and commands that they return from iniquity.11   If they listen and serve him,    they complete their days in prosperity,    and their years in pleasantness.12   But if they do not listen, they perish by the sword    and die without knowledge. 13   “The godless in heart cherish anger;    they do not cry for help when he binds them.14   They die in youth,    and their life ends among the cult prostitutes.15   He delivers the afflicted by their affliction    and opens their ear by adversity.16   He also allured you out of distress    into a broad place where there was no cramping,    and what was set on your table was full of fatness. 17   “But you are full of the judgment on the wicked;    judgment and justice seize you.18   Beware lest wrath entice you into scoffing,    and let not the greatness of the ransom turn you aside.19   Will your cry for help avail to keep you from distress,    or all the force of your strength?20   Do not long for the night,    when peoples vanish in their place.21   Take care; do not turn to iniquity,    for this you have chosen rather than affliction. (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 59 Isaiah 59 (Listen) Evil and Oppression 59   Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save,    or his ear dull, that it cannot hear;2   but your iniquities have made a separation    between you and your God,  and your sins have hidden his face from you    so that he does not hear.3   For your hands are defiled with blood    and your fingers with iniquity;  your lips have spoken lies;    your tongue mutters wickedness.4   No one enters suit justly;    no one goes to law honestly;  they rely on empty pleas, they speak lies,    they conceive mischief and give birth to iniquity.5   They hatch adders' eggs;    they weave the spider's web;  he who eats their eggs dies,    and from one that is crushed a viper is hatched.6   Their webs will not serve as clothing;    men will not cover themselves with what they make.  Their works are works of iniquity,    and deeds of violence are in their hands.7   Their feet run to evil,    and they are swift to shed innocent blood;  their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity;    desolation and destruction are in their highways.8   The way of peace they do not know,    and there is no justice in their paths;  they have made their roads crooked;    no one who treads on them knows peace. 9   Therefore justice is far from us,    and righteousness does not overtake us;  we hope for light, and behold, darkness,    and for brightness, but we walk in gloom.10   We grope for the wall like the blind;    we grope like those who have no eyes;  we stumble at noon as in the twilight,    among those in full vigor we are like dead men.11   We all growl like bears;    we moan and moan like doves;  we hope for justice, but there is none;    for salvation, but it is far from us.12   For our transgressions are multiplied before you,    and our sins testify against us;  for our transgressions are with us,    and we know our iniquities:13   transgressing, and denying the LORD,    and turning back from following our God,  speaking oppression and revolt,    conceiving and uttering from the heart lying words. Judgment and Redemption 14   Justice is turned back,    and righteousness stands far away;  for truth has stumbled in the public squares,    and uprightness cannot enter.15   Truth is lacking,    and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey.   The LORD saw it, and it displeased him1    that there was no justice.16   He saw that there was no man,    and wondered that there was no one to intercede;  then his own arm brought him salvation,    and his righteousness upheld him.17   He put on righteousness as a breastplate,    and a helmet of salvation on his head;  he put on garments of vengeance for clothing,    and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.18   According to their deeds, so will he repay,    wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies;    to the coastlands he will render repayment.19   So they shall fear the name of the LORD from the west,    and his glory from the rising of the sun;  for he will come like a rushing stream,2    which the wind of the LORD drives. 20   “And a Redeemer will come to Zion,    to those in Jacob who turn from transgression,” declares the LORD. 21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children's offspring,” says the LORD, “from this time forth and forevermore.” Footnotes [1] 59:15 Hebrew and it was evil in his eyes [2] 59:19 Hebrew a narrow river (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 17 Revelation 17 (Listen) The Great Prostitute and the Beast 17 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.” 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.1 When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, “Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit2 and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.” 15 And the angel3 said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” Footnotes [1] 17:6 Greek the witnesses to Jesus [2] 17:8 Greek the abyss [3] 17:15 Greek he (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 145 Psalm 145 (Listen) Great Is the Lord 1 A Song of Praise. Of David. 145   I will extol you, my God and King,    and bless your name forever and ever.2   Every day I will bless you    and praise your name forever and ever.3   Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised,    and his greatness is unsearchable. 4   One generation shall commend your works to another,    and shall declare your mighty acts.5   On the glorious splendor of your majesty,    and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.6   They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,    and I will declare your greatness.7   They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness    and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. 8   The LORD is gracious and merciful,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   The LORD is good to all,    and his mercy is over all that he has made. 10   All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,    and all your saints shall bless you!11   They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom    and tell of your power,12   to make known to the children of man your2 mighty deeds,    and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.13   Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,    and your dominion endures throughout all generations.   [The LORD is faithful in all his words    and kind in all his works.]314   The LORD upholds all who are falling    and raises up all who are bowed down.15   The eyes of all look to you,    and you give them their food in due season.16   You open your hand;    you satisfy the desire of every living thing.17   The LORD is righteous in all his ways    and kind in all his works.18   The LORD is near to all who call on him,    to all who call on him in truth.19   He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;    he also hears their cry and saves them.20   The LORD preserves all who love him,    but all the wicked he will destroy. 21   My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,    and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever. Footnotes [1] 145:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 145:12 Hebrew his; also next line [3] 145:13 These two lines are supplied by one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac (compare Dead Sea Scroll) (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 34–35 Job 34–35 (Listen) Elihu Asserts God's Justice 34 Then Elihu answered and said: 2   “Hear my words, you wise men,    and give ear to me, you who know;3   for the ear tests words    as the palate tastes food.4   Let us choose what is right;    let us know among ourselves what is good.5   For Job has said, ‘I am in the right,    and God has taken away my right;6   in spite of my right I am counted a liar;    my wound is incurable, though I am without transgression.'7   What man is like Job,    who drinks up scoffing like water,8   who travels in company with evildoers    and walks with wicked men?9   For he has said, ‘It profits a man nothing    that he should take delight in God.' 10   “Therefore, hear me, you men of understanding:    far be it from God that he should do wickedness,    and from the Almighty that he should do wrong.11   For according to the work of a man he will repay him,    and according to his ways he will make it befall him.12   Of a truth, God will not do wickedly,    and the Almighty will not pervert justice.13   Who gave him charge over the earth,    and who laid on him1 the whole world?14   If he should set his heart to it    and gather to himself his spirit and his breath,15   all flesh would perish together,    and man would return to dust. 16   “If you have understanding, hear this;    listen to what I say.17   Shall one who hates justice govern?    Will you condemn him who is righteous and mighty,18   who says to a king, ‘Worthless one,'    and to nobles, ‘Wicked man,'19   who shows no partiality to princes,    nor regards the rich more than the poor,    for they are all the work of his hands?20   In a moment they die;    at midnight the people are shaken and pass away,    and the mighty are taken away by no human hand. 21   “For his eyes are on the ways of a man,    and he sees all his steps.22   There is no gloom or deep darkness    where evildoers may hide themselves.23   For God2 has no need to consider a man further,    that he should go before God in judgment.24   He shatters the mighty without investigation    and sets others in their place.25   Thus, knowing their works,    he overturns them in the night, and they are crushed.26   He strikes them for their wickedness    in a place for all to see,27   because they turned aside from following him    and had no regard for any of his ways,28   so that they caused the cry of the poor to come to him,    and he heard the cry of the afflicted—29   When he is quiet, who can condemn?    When he hides his face, who can behold him,    whether it be a nation or a man?—30   that a godless man should not reign,    that he should not ensnare the people. 31   “For has anyone said to God,    ‘I have borne punishment; I will not offend any more;32   teach me what I do not see;    if I have done iniquity, I will do it no more'?33   Will he then make repayment to suit you,    because you reject it?  For you must choose, and not I;    therefore declare what you know.334   Men of understanding will say to me,    and the wise man who hears me will say:35   ‘Job speaks without knowledge;    his words are without insight.'36   Would that Job were tried to the end,    because he answers like wicked men.37   For he adds rebellion to his sin;    he claps his hands among us    and multiplies his words against God.” Elihu Condemns Job 35 And Elihu answered and said: 2   “Do you think this to be just?    Do you say, ‘It is my right before God,'3   that you ask, ‘What advantage have I?    How am I better off than if I had sinned?'4   I will answer you    and your friends with you.5   Look at the heavens, and see;    and behold the clouds, which are higher than you.6   If you have sinned, what do you accomplish against him?    And if your transgressions are multiplied, what do you do to him?7   If you are righteous, what do you give to him?    Or what does he receive from your hand?8   Your wickedness concerns a man like yourself,    and your righteousness a son of man. 9   “Because of the multitude of oppressions people cry out;    they call for help because of the arm of the mighty.410   But none says, ‘Where is God my Maker,    who gives songs in the night,11   who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth    and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?'12   There they cry out, but he does not answer,    because of the pride of evil men.13   Surely God does not hear an empty cry,    nor does the Almighty regard it.14   How much less when you say that you do not see him,    that the case is before him, and you are waiting for him!15   And now, because his anger does not punish,    and he does not take much note of transgression,516   Job opens his mouth in empty talk;    he multiplies words without knowledge.” Footnotes [1] 34:13 Hebrew lacks on him [2] 34:23 Hebrew he [3] 34:33 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 29–33 is uncertain [4] 35:9 Or the many [5] 35:15 Theodotion, Symmachus (compare Vulgate); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 58 Isaiah 58 (Listen) True and False Fasting 58   “Cry aloud; do not hold back;    lift up your voice like a trumpet;  declare to my people their transgression,    to the house of Jacob their sins.2   Yet they seek me daily    and delight to know my ways,  as if they were a nation that did righteousness    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;  they ask of me righteous judgments;    they delight to draw near to God.3   ‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?'  Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,1    and oppress all your workers.4   Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight    and to hit with a wicked fist.  Fasting like yours this day    will not make your voice to be heard on high.5   Is such the fast that I choose,    a day for a person to humble himself?  Is it to bow down his head like a reed,    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?  Will you call this a fast,    and a day acceptable to the LORD? 6   “Is not this the fast that I choose:    to loose the bonds of wickedness,    to undo the straps of the yoke,  to let the oppressed2 go free,    and to break every yoke?7   Is it not to share your bread with the hungry    and bring the homeless poor into your house;  when you see the naked, to cover him,    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?8   Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,    and your healing shall spring up speedily;  your righteousness shall go before you;    the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.9   Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer;    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.'  If you take away the yoke from your midst,    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,10   if you pour yourself out for the hungry    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,  then shall your light rise in the darkness    and your gloom be as the noonday.11   And the LORD will guide you continually    and satisfy your desire in scorched places    and make your bones strong;  and you shall be like a watered garden,    like a spring of water,    whose waters do not fail.12   And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;    you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;  you shall be called the repairer of the breach,    the restorer of streets to dwell in. 13   “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,    from doing your pleasure3 on my holy day,  and call the Sabbath a delight    and the holy day of the LORD honorable;  if you honor it, not going your own ways,    or seeking your own pleasure,4 or talking idly;514   then you shall take delight in the LORD,    and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;6  I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” Footnotes [1] 58:3 Or pursue your own business [2] 58:6 Or bruised [3] 58:13 Or business [4] 58:13 Or pursuing your own business [5] 58:13 Hebrew or speaking a word [6] 58:14 Or of the land (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 16 Revelation 16 (Listen) The Seven Bowls of God's Wrath 16 Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of the wrath of God.” 2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. 3 The second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing died that was in the sea. 4 The third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel in charge of the waters

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 144 Psalm 144 (Listen) My Rock and My Fortress Of David. 144   Blessed be the LORD, my rock,    who trains my hands for war,    and my fingers for battle;2   he is my steadfast love and my fortress,    my stronghold and my deliverer,  my shield and he in whom I take refuge,    who subdues peoples1 under me. 3   O LORD, what is man that you regard him,    or the son of man that you think of him?4   Man is like a breath;    his days are like a passing shadow. 5   Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down!    Touch the mountains so that they smoke!6   Flash forth the lightning and scatter them;    send out your arrows and rout them!7   Stretch out your hand from on high;    rescue me and deliver me from the many waters,    from the hand of foreigners,8   whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 9   I will sing a new song to you, O God;    upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,10   who gives victory to kings,    who rescues David his servant from the cruel sword.11   Rescue me and deliver me    from the hand of foreigners,  whose mouths speak lies    and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood. 12   May our sons in their youth    be like plants full grown,  our daughters like corner pillars    cut for the structure of a palace;13   may our granaries be full,    providing all kinds of produce;  may our sheep bring forth thousands    and ten thousands in our fields;14   may our cattle be heavy with young,    suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;2  may there be no cry of distress in our streets!15   Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!    Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD! Footnotes [1] 144:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Dead Sea Scroll, Jerome, Syriac, Aquila; most Hebrew manuscripts subdues my people [2] 144:14 Hebrew with no breaking in or going out (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 33 Job 33 (Listen) Elihu Rebukes Job 33   “But now, hear my speech, O Job,    and listen to all my words.2   Behold, I open my mouth;    the tongue in my mouth speaks.3   My words declare the uprightness of my heart,    and what my lips know they speak sincerely.4   The Spirit of God has made me,    and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.5   Answer me, if you can;    set your words in order before me; take your stand.6   Behold, I am toward God as you are;    I too was pinched off from a piece of clay.7   Behold, no fear of me need terrify you;    my pressure will not be heavy upon you. 8   “Surely you have spoken in my ears,    and I have heard the sound of your words.9   You say, ‘I am pure, without transgression;    I am clean, and there is no iniquity in me.10   Behold, he finds occasions against me,    he counts me as his enemy,11   he puts my feet in the stocks    and watches all my paths.' 12   “Behold, in this you are not right. I will answer you,    for God is greater than man.13   Why do you contend against him,    saying, ‘He will answer none of man's1 words'?214   For God speaks in one way,    and in two, though man does not perceive it.15   In a dream, in a vision of the night,    when deep sleep falls on men,    while they slumber on their beds,16   then he opens the ears of men    and terrifies3 them with warnings,17   that he may turn man aside from his deed    and conceal pride from a man;18   he keeps back his soul from the pit,    his life from perishing by the sword. 19   “Man is also rebuked with pain on his bed    and with continual strife in his bones,20   so that his life loathes bread,    and his appetite the choicest food.21   His flesh is so wasted away that it cannot be seen,    and his bones that were not seen stick out.22   His soul draws near the pit,    and his life to those who bring death.23   If there be for him an angel,    a mediator, one of the thousand,    to declare to man what is right for him,24   and he is merciful to him, and says,    ‘Deliver him from going down into the pit;    I have found a ransom;25   let his flesh become fresh with youth;    let him return to the days of his youthful vigor';26   then man4 prays to God, and he accepts him;    he sees his face with a shout of joy,  and he restores to man his righteousness.27     He sings before men and says:  ‘I sinned and perverted what was right,    and it was not repaid to me.28   He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit,    and my life shall look upon the light.' 29   “Behold, God does all these things,    twice, three times, with a man,30   to bring back his soul from the pit,    that he may be lighted with the light of life.31   Pay attention, O Job, listen to me;    be silent, and I will speak.32   If you have any words, answer me;    speak, for I desire to justify you.33   If not, listen to me;    be silent, and I will teach you wisdom.” Footnotes [1] 33:13 Hebrew his [2] 33:13 Or He will not answer for any of his own words [3] 33:16 Or seals [4] 33:26 Hebrew he (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 56–57 Isaiah 56–57 (Listen) Salvation for Foreigners 56   Thus says the LORD:  “Keep justice, and do righteousness,  for soon my salvation will come,    and my righteousness be revealed.2   Blessed is the man who does this,    and the son of man who holds it fast,  who keeps the Sabbath, not profaning it,    and keeps his hand from doing any evil.” 3   Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,    “The LORD will surely separate me from his people”;  and let not the eunuch say,    “Behold, I am a dry tree.”4   For thus says the LORD:  “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,    who choose the things that please me    and hold fast my covenant,5   I will give in my house and within my walls    a monument and a name    better than sons and daughters;  I will give them an everlasting name    that shall not be cut off. 6   “And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,    to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,    and to be his servants,  everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,    and holds fast my covenant—7   these I will bring to my holy mountain,    and make them joyful in my house of prayer;  their burnt offerings and their sacrifices    will be accepted on my altar;  for my house shall be called a house of prayer    for all peoples.”8   The Lord GOD,    who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares,  “I will gather yet others to him    besides those already gathered.” Israel's Irresponsible Leaders 9   All you beasts of the field, come to devour—    all you beasts in the forest.10   His watchmen are blind;    they are all without knowledge;  they are all silent dogs;    they cannot bark,  dreaming, lying down,    loving to slumber.11   The dogs have a mighty appetite;    they never have enough.  But they are shepherds who have no understanding;    they have all turned to their own way,    each to his own gain, one and all.12   “Come,” they say, “let me get wine;    let us fill ourselves with strong drink;  and tomorrow will be like this day,    great beyond measure.” Israel's Futile Idolatry 57   The righteous man perishes,    and no one lays it to heart;  devout men are taken away,    while no one understands.  For the righteous man is taken away from calamity;2     he enters into peace;  they rest in their beds    who walk in their uprightness.3   But you, draw near,    sons of the sorceress,    offspring of the adulterer and the loose woman.4   Whom are you mocking?    Against whom do you open your mouth wide    and stick out your tongue?  Are you not children of transgression,    the offspring of deceit,5   you who burn with lust among the oaks,1    under every green tree,  who slaughter your children in the valleys,    under the clefts of the rocks?6   Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion;    they, they, are your lot;  to them you have poured out a drink offering,    you have brought a grain offering.    Shall I relent for these things?7   On a high and lofty mountain    you have set your bed,    and there you went up to offer sacrifice.8   Behind the door and the doorpost    you have set up your memorial;  for, deserting me, you have uncovered your bed,    you have gone up to it,    you have made it wide;  and you have made a covenant for yourself with them,    you have loved their bed,    you have looked on nakedness.29   You journeyed to the king with oil    and multiplied your perfumes;  you sent your envoys far off,    and sent down even to Sheol.10   You were wearied with the length of your way,    but you did not say, “It is hopeless”;  you found new life for your strength,    and so you were not faint.3 11   Whom did you dread and fear,    so that you lied,  and did not remember me,    did not lay it to heart?  Have I not held my peace, even for a long time,    and you do not fear me?12   I will declare your righteousness and your deeds,    but they will not profit you.13   When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you!    The wind will carry them all off,    a breath will take them away.  But he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land    and shall inherit my holy mountain. Comfort for the Contrite 14   And it shall be said,  “Build up, build up, prepare the way,    remove every obstruction from my people's way.”15   For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,    who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:  “I dwell in the high and holy place,    and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,  to revive the spirit of the lowly,    and to revive the heart of the contrite.16   For I will not contend forever,    nor will I always be angry;  for the spirit would grow faint before me,    and the breath of life that I made.17   Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry,    I struck him; I hid my face and was angry,    but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart.18   I have seen his ways, but I will heal him;    I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners,19     creating the fruit of the lips.  Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the LORD,    “and I will heal him.20   But the wicked are like the tossing sea;    for it cannot be quiet,    and its waters toss up mire and dirt.21   There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.” Footnotes [1] 57:5 Or among the terebinths [2] 57:8 Or on a monument (see 56:5); Hebrew on a hand [3] 57:10 Hebrew and so you were not sick (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 15 Revelation 15 (<

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 143 Psalm 143 (Listen) My Soul Thirsts for You A Psalm of David. 143   Hear my prayer, O LORD;    give ear to my pleas for mercy!    In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!2   Enter not into judgment with your servant,    for no one living is righteous before you. 3   For the enemy has pursued my soul;    he has crushed my life to the ground;    he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.4   Therefore my spirit faints within me;    my heart within me is appalled. 5   I remember the days of old;    I meditate on all that you have done;    I ponder the work of your hands.6   I stretch out my hands to you;    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah 7   Answer me quickly, O LORD!    My spirit fails!  Hide not your face from me,    lest I be like those who go down to the pit.8   Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,    for in you I trust.  Make me know the way I should go,    for to you I lift up my soul. 9   Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD!    I have fled to you for refuge.110   Teach me to do your will,    for you are my God!  Let your good Spirit lead me    on level ground! 11   For your name's sake, O LORD, preserve my life!    In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!12   And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,    and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,    for I am your servant. Footnotes [1] 143:9 One Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint; most Hebrew manuscripts To you I have covered (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 32 Job 32 (Listen) Elihu Rebukes Job's Three Friends 32 So these three men ceased to answer Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes. 2 Then Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, burned with anger. He burned with anger at Job because he justified himself rather than God. 3 He burned with anger also at Job's three friends because they had found no answer, although they had declared Job to be in the wrong. 4 Now Elihu had waited to speak to Job because they were older than he. 5 And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, he burned with anger. 6 And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said:   “I am young in years,    and you are aged;  therefore I was timid and afraid    to declare my opinion to you.7   I said, ‘Let days speak,    and many years teach wisdom.'8   But it is the spirit in man,    the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand.9   It is not the old1 who are wise,    nor the aged who understand what is right.10   Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me;    let me also declare my opinion.' 11   “Behold, I waited for your words,    I listened for your wise sayings,    while you searched out what to say.12   I gave you my attention,    and, behold, there was none among you who refuted Job    or who answered his words.13   Beware lest you say, ‘We have found wisdom;    God may vanquish him, not a man.'14   He has not directed his words against me,    and I will not answer him with your speeches. 15   “They are dismayed; they answer no more;    they have not a word to say.16   And shall I wait, because they do not speak,    because they stand there, and answer no more?17   I also will answer with my share;    I also will declare my opinion.18   For I am full of words;    the spirit within me constrains me.19   Behold, my belly is like wine that has no vent;    like new wineskins ready to burst.20   I must speak, that I may find relief;    I must open my lips and answer.21   I will not show partiality to any man    or use flattery toward any person.22   For I do not know how to flatter,    else my Maker would soon take me away. Footnotes [1] 32:9 Hebrew many [in years] (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 55 Isaiah 55 (Listen) The Compassion of the Lord 55   “Come, everyone who thirsts,    come to the waters;  and he who has no money,    come, buy and eat!  Come, buy wine and milk    without money and without price.2   Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,    and your labor for that which does not satisfy?  Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,    and delight yourselves in rich food.3   Incline your ear, and come to me;    hear, that your soul may live;  and I will make with you an everlasting covenant,    my steadfast, sure love for David.4   Behold, I made him a witness to the peoples,    a leader and commander for the peoples.5   Behold, you shall call a nation that you do not know,    and a nation that did not know you shall run to you,  because of the LORD your God, and of the Holy One of Israel,    for he has glorified you. 6   “Seek the LORD while he may be found;    call upon him while he is near;7   let the wicked forsake his way,    and the unrighteous man his thoughts;  let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him,    and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.8   For my thoughts are not your thoughts,    neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.9   For as the heavens are higher than the earth,    so are my ways higher than your ways    and my thoughts than your thoughts. 10   “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven    and do not return there but water the earth,  making it bring forth and sprout,    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,11   so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;    it shall not return to me empty,  but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. 12   “For you shall go out in joy    and be led forth in peace;  the mountains and the hills before you    shall break forth into singing,    and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.13   Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;    instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;  and it shall make a name for the LORD,    an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.” (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 14 Revelation 14 (Listen) The Lamb and the 144,000 14 Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father's name written on their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, 3 and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. 4 It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, 5 and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. The Messages of the Three Angels 6 Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people. 7 And he said with a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.” 8 Another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great, she who made all nations drink the wine of the passion1 of her sexual immorality.” 9 And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, 10 he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” 12 Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.2 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Blessed indeed,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” The Harvest of the Earth 14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” 16 So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped. 17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over the fire, and he called with a loud voice to the one who had the sharp sickle, “Put in your sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” 19 So the angel swung his sickle across the earth and gathered the grape harvest of the earth and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress, as high as a horse's bridle, for 1,600 stadia.3 Footnotes [1] 14:8 Or wrath [2] 14:12 Greek and the faith of Jesus [3] 14:20 About 184 miles; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 142 Psalm 142 (Listen) You Are My Refuge A Maskil1 of David, when he was in the cave. A Prayer. 142   With my voice I cry out to the LORD;    with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.2   I pour out my complaint before him;    I tell my trouble before him. 3   When my spirit faints within me,    you know my way!  In the path where I walk    they have hidden a trap for me.4   Look to the right and see:    there is none who takes notice of me;  no refuge remains to me;    no one cares for my soul. 5   I cry to you, O LORD;    I say, “You are my refuge,    my portion in the land of the living.”6   Attend to my cry,    for I am brought very low!  Deliver me from my persecutors,    for they are too strong for me!7   Bring me out of prison,    that I may give thanks to your name!  The righteous will surround me,    for you will deal bountifully with me. Footnotes [1] 142:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 31 Job 31 (Listen) Job's Final Appeal 31   “I have made a covenant with my eyes;    how then could I gaze at a virgin?2   What would be my portion from God above    and my heritage from the Almighty on high?3   Is not calamity for the unrighteous,    and disaster for the workers of iniquity?4   Does not he see my ways    and number all my steps? 5   “If I have walked with falsehood    and my foot has hastened to deceit;6   (Let me be weighed in a just balance,    and let God know my integrity!)7   if my step has turned aside from the way    and my heart has gone after my eyes,    and if any spot has stuck to my hands,8   then let me sow, and another eat,    and let what grows for me1 be rooted out. 9   “If my heart has been enticed toward a woman,    and I have lain in wait at my neighbor's door,10   then let my wife grind for another,    and let others bow down on her.11   For that would be a heinous crime;    that would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges;12   for that would be a fire that consumes as far as Abaddon,    and it would burn to the root all my increase. 13   “If I have rejected the cause of my manservant or my maidservant,    when they brought a complaint against me,14   what then shall I do when God rises up?    When he makes inquiry, what shall I answer him?15   Did not he who made me in the womb make him?    And did not one fashion us in the womb? 16   “If I have withheld anything that the poor desired,    or have caused the eyes of the widow to fail,17   or have eaten my morsel alone,    and the fatherless has not eaten of it18   (for from my youth the fatherless2 grew up with me as with a father,    and from my mother's womb I guided the widow3),19   if I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing,    or the needy without covering,20   if his body has not blessed me,4    and if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep,21   if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,    because I saw my help in the gate,22   then let my shoulder blade fall from my shoulder,    and let my arm be broken from its socket.23   For I was in terror of calamity from God,    and I could not have faced his majesty. 24   “If I have made gold my trust    or called fine gold my confidence,25   if I have rejoiced because my wealth was abundant    or because my hand had found much,26   if I have looked at the sun5 when it shone,    or the moon moving in splendor,27   and my heart has been secretly enticed,    and my mouth has kissed my hand,28   this also would be an iniquity to be punished by the judges,    for I would have been false to God above. 29   “If I have rejoiced at the ruin of him who hated me,    or exulted when evil overtook him30   (I have not let my mouth sin    by asking for his life with a curse),31   if the men of my tent have not said,    ‘Who is there that has not been filled with his meat?'32   (the sojourner has not lodged in the street;    I have opened my doors to the traveler),33   if I have concealed my transgressions as others do6    by hiding my iniquity in my heart,34   because I stood in great fear of the multitude,    and the contempt of families terrified me,    so that I kept silence, and did not go out of doors—35   Oh, that I had one to hear me!    (Here is my signature! Let the Almighty answer me!)    Oh, that I had the indictment written by my adversary!36   Surely I would carry it on my shoulder;    I would bind it on me as a crown;37   I would give him an account of all my steps;    like a prince I would approach him. 38   “If my land has cried out against me    and its furrows have wept together,39   if I have eaten its yield without payment    and made its owners breathe their last,40   let thorns grow instead of wheat,    and foul weeds instead of barley.” The words of Job are ended. Footnotes [1] 31:8 Or let my descendants [2] 31:18 Hebrew he [3] 31:18 Hebrew her [4] 31:20 Hebrew if his loins have not blessed me [5] 31:26 Hebrew the light [6] 31:33 Or as Adam did (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 54 Isaiah 54 (Listen) The Eternal Covenant of Peace 54   “Sing, O barren one, who did not bear;    break forth into singing and cry aloud,    you who have not been in labor!  For the children of the desolate one will be more    than the children of her who is married,” says the LORD.2   “Enlarge the place of your tent,    and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out;  do not hold back; lengthen your cords    and strengthen your stakes.3   For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left,    and your offspring will possess the nations    and will people the desolate cities. 4   “Fear not, for you will not be ashamed;    be not confounded, for you will not be disgraced;  for you will forget the shame of your youth,    and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more.5   For your Maker is your husband,    the LORD of hosts is his name;  and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,    the God of the whole earth he is called.6   For the LORD has called you    like a wife deserted and grieved in spirit,  like a wife of youth when she is cast off,    says your God.7   For a brief moment I deserted you,    but with great compassion I will gather you.8   In overflowing anger for a moment    I hid my face from you,  but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,”    says the LORD, your Redeemer. 9   “This is like the days of Noah1 to me:    as I swore that the waters of Noah    should no more go over the earth,  so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you,    and will not rebuke you.10   For the mountains may depart    and the hills be removed,  but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,    and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”    says the LORD, who has compassion on you. 11   “O afflicted one, storm-tossed and not comforted,    behold, I will set your stones in antimony,    and lay your foundations with sapphires.212   I will make your pinnacles of agate,3    your gates of carbuncles,4    and all your wall of precious stones.13   All your children shall be taught by the LORD,    and great shall be the peace of your children.14   In righteousness you shall be established;    you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;    and from terror, for it shall not come near you.15   If anyone stirs up strife,    it is not from me;  whoever stirs up strife with you    shall fall because of you.16   Behold, I have created the smith    who blows the fire of coals    and produces a weapon for its purpose.  I have also created the ravager to destroy;17     no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed,    and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment.  This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD    and their vindication5 from me, declares the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 54:9 Some manuscripts For this is as the waters of Noah [2] 54:11 Or lapis lazuli [3] 54:12 Or jasper, or ruby [4] 54:12 Or crystal [5] 54:17 Or righteousness (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 13 Revelation 13 (Listen) The First Beast 13 And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. 2 And the beast that I saw was like a leopard; its feet were like a bear's, and its mouth was like a lion's mouth. And to it the dragon gave his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of its heads seemed to have a mortal wound, but its mortal wound was healed, and the whole earth marveled as they followed the beast. 4 And they worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?” 5 And the beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. 6 It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling,1 that is, those who dwell in heaven. 7 Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them.2 And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation, 8 and all who dwell on earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written before the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear: 10   If anyone is to be taken captive,    to captivity he goes;  if anyone is to be slain with the sword,    with the sword must he be slain. Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints. The Second Beast 11 Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. 12 It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence,3 and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. 13 It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, 14 and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of4 the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. 15 And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. 16 Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave,5 to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, 17 so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. 18 This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.6 Footnotes [1] 13:6 Or tabernacle [2] 13:7 Some manuscripts omit this sentence [3] 13:12 Or on its behalf [4] 13:14 Or on behalf of [5] 13:16 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface [6] 13:18 Some manuscripts 616 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 141 Psalm 141 (Listen) Give Ear to My Voice A Psalm of David. 141   O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me!    Give ear to my voice when I call to you!2   Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,    and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice! 3   Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;    keep watch over the door of my lips!4   Do not let my heart incline to any evil,    to busy myself with wicked deeds  in company with men who work iniquity,    and let me not eat of their delicacies! 5   Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;    let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;    let my head not refuse it.  Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.6   When their judges are thrown over the cliff,1    then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.7   As when one plows and breaks up the earth,    so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.2 8   But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord;    in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!39   Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me    and from the snares of evildoers!10   Let the wicked fall into their own nets,    while I pass by safely. Footnotes [1] 141:6 Or When their judges fall into the hands of the Rock [2] 141:7 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 6, 7 is uncertain [3] 141:8 Hebrew refuge; do not pour out my life! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 30 Job 30 (Listen) 30   “But now they laugh at me,    men who are younger than I,  whose fathers I would have disdained    to set with the dogs of my flock.2   What could I gain from the strength of their hands,    men whose vigor is gone?3   Through want and hard hunger    they gnaw the dry ground by night in waste and desolation;4   they pick saltwort and the leaves of bushes,    and the roots of the broom tree for their food.15   They are driven out from human company;    they shout after them as after a thief.6   In the gullies of the torrents they must dwell,    in holes of the earth and of the rocks.7   Among the bushes they bray;    under the nettles they huddle together.8   A senseless, a nameless brood,    they have been whipped out of the land. 9   “And now I have become their song;    I am a byword to them.10   They abhor me; they keep aloof from me;    they do not hesitate to spit at the sight of me.11   Because God has loosed my cord and humbled me,    they have cast off restraint2 in my presence.12   On my right hand the rabble rise;    they push away my feet;    they cast up against me their ways of destruction.13   They break up my path;    they promote my calamity;    they need no one to help them.14   As through a wide breach they come;    amid the crash they roll on.15   Terrors are turned upon me;    my honor is pursued as by the wind,    and my prosperity has passed away like a cloud. 16   “And now my soul is poured out within me;    days of affliction have taken hold of me.17   The night racks my bones,    and the pain that gnaws me takes no rest.18   With great force my garment is disfigured;    it binds me about like the collar of my tunic.19   God3 has cast me into the mire,    and I have become like dust and ashes.20   I cry to you for help and you do not answer me;    I stand, and you only look at me.21   You have turned cruel to me;    with the might of your hand you persecute me.22   You lift me up on the wind; you make me ride on it,    and you toss me about in the roar of the storm.23   For I know that you will bring me to death    and to the house appointed for all living. 24   “Yet does not one in a heap of ruins stretch out his hand,    and in his disaster cry for help?425   Did not I weep for him whose day was hard?    Was not my soul grieved for the needy?26   But when I hoped for good, evil came,    and when I waited for light, darkness came.27   My inward parts are in turmoil and never still;    days of affliction come to meet me.28   I go about darkened, but not by the sun;    I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.29   I am a brother of jackals    and a companion of ostriches.30   My skin turns black and falls from me,    and my bones burn with heat.31   My lyre is turned to mourning,    and my pipe to the voice of those who weep. Footnotes [1] 30:4 Or warmth [2] 30:11 Hebrew the bridle [3] 30:19 Hebrew He [4] 30:24 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 52:13–53:12 Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (Listen) He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions 13   Behold, my servant shall act wisely;1    he shall be high and lifted up,    and shall be exalted.14   As many were astonished at you—    his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,    and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—15   so shall he sprinkle2 many nations.    Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,  for that which has not been told them they see,    and that which they have not heard they understand.53   Who has believed what he has heard from us?3    And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?2   For he grew up before him like a young plant,    and like a root out of dry ground;  he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,    and no beauty that we should desire him.3   He was despised and rejected4 by men,    a man of sorrows5 and acquainted with6 grief;7  and as one from whom men hide their faces8    he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4   Surely he has borne our griefs    and carried our sorrows;  yet we esteemed him stricken,    smitten by God, and afflicted.5   But he was pierced for our transgressions;    he was crushed for our iniquities;  upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,    and with his wounds we are healed.6   All we like sheep have gone astray;    we have turned—every one—to his own way;  and the LORD has laid on him    the iniquity of us all. 7   He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,    yet he opened not his mouth;  like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,    so he opened not his mouth.8   By oppression and judgment he was taken away;    and as for his generation, who considered  that he was cut off out of the land of the living,    stricken for the transgression of my people?9   And they made his grave with the wicked    and with a rich man in his death,  although he had done no violence,    and there was no deceit in his mouth. 10   Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;    he has put him to grief;9  when his soul makes10 an offering for guilt,    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;  the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.11   Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see11 and be satisfied;  by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,    make many to be accounted righteous,    and he shall bear their iniquities.12   Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,12    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,13  because he poured out his soul to death    and was numbered with the transgressors;  yet he bore the sin of many,    and makes intercession for the transgressors. Footnotes [1] 52:13 Or shall prosper [2] 52:15 Or startle [3] 53:1 Or Who has believed what we have heard? [4] 53:3 Or forsaken [5] 53:3 Or pains; also verse 4 [6] 53:3 Or and knowing [7] 53:3 Or sickness; also verse 4 [8] 53:3 Or as one who hides his face from us [9] 53:10 Or he has made him sick [10] 53:10 Or when you make his soul [11] 53:11 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll he shall see light [12] 53:12 Or with the great [13] 53:12 Or with the numerous (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 12 Revelation 12 (Listen) The Woman and the Dragon 12 And a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pains and the agony of giving birth. 3 And another sign appeared in heaven: behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child he might devour it. 5 She gave birth to a male child, one who is to rule1 all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, 6 and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, in which she is to be nourished for 1,260 days. Satan Thrown Down to Earth 7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers2 has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. 11 And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. 12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” 13 And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle so that she might fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to the place where she is to be nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. 15 The serpent poured water like a river out of his mouth after the woman, to sweep her away with a flood. 16 But the earth came to the help of the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 Then the dragon became furious with the woman and went off to make war on the rest of her offspring, on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And he stood3 on the sand of the sea. Footnotes [1] 12:5 Greek shepherd [2] 12:10 Or brothers and sisters [3] 12:17 Some manuscripts And I stood, connecting the sentence with 13:1 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 140 Psalm 140 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 140   Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men;    preserve me from violent men,2   who plan evil things in their heart    and stir up wars continually.3   They make their tongue sharp as a serpent's,    and under their lips is the venom of asps. Selah 4   Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;    preserve me from violent men,    who have planned to trip up my feet.5   The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,    and with cords they have spread a net;1    beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah 6   I say to the LORD, You are my God;    give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O LORD!7   O LORD, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,    you have covered my head in the day of battle.8   Grant not, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;    do not further their2 evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah 9   As for the head of those who surround me,    let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!10   Let burning coals fall upon them!    Let them be cast into fire,    into miry pits, no more to rise!11   Let not the slanderer be established in the land;    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily! 12   I know that the LORD will maintain the cause of the afflicted,    and will execute justice for the needy.13   Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;    the upright shall dwell in your presence. Footnotes [1] 140:5 Or they have spread cords as a net [2] 140:8 Hebrew his (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 29 Job 29 (Listen) Job's Summary Defense 29 And Job again took up his discourse, and said: 2   “Oh, that I were as in the months of old,    as in the days when God watched over me,3   when his lamp shone upon my head,    and by his light I walked through darkness,4   as I was in my prime,1    when the friendship of God was upon my tent,5   when the Almighty was yet with me,    when my children were all around me,6   when my steps were washed with butter,    and the rock poured out for me streams of oil!7   When I went out to the gate of the city,    when I prepared my seat in the square,8   the young men saw me and withdrew,    and the aged rose and stood;9   the princes refrained from talking    and laid their hand on their mouth;10   the voice of the nobles was hushed,    and their tongue stuck to the roof of their mouth.11   When the ear heard, it called me blessed,    and when the eye saw, it approved,12   because I delivered the poor who cried for help,    and the fatherless who had none to help him.13   The blessing of him who was about to perish came upon me,    and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy.14   I put on righteousness, and it clothed me;    my justice was like a robe and a turban.15   I was eyes to the blind    and feet to the lame.16   I was a father to the needy,    and I searched out the cause of him whom I did not know.17   I broke the fangs of the unrighteous    and made him drop his prey from his teeth.18   Then I thought, ‘I shall die in my nest,    and I shall multiply my days as the sand,19   my roots spread out to the waters,    with the dew all night on my branches,20   my glory fresh with me,    and my bow ever new in my hand.' 21   “Men listened to me and waited    and kept silence for my counsel.22   After I spoke they did not speak again,    and my word dropped upon them.23   They waited for me as for the rain,    and they opened their mouths as for the spring rain.24   I smiled on them when they had no confidence,    and the light of my face they did not cast down.25   I chose their way and sat as chief,    and I lived like a king among his troops,    like one who comforts mourners. Footnotes [1] 29:4 Hebrew my autumn days (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 51–52:12 Isaiah 51–52:12 (Listen) The Lord's Comfort for Zion 51   “Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness,    you who seek the LORD:  look to the rock from which you were hewn,    and to the quarry from which you were dug.2   Look to Abraham your father    and to Sarah who bore you;  for he was but one when I called him,    that I might bless him and multiply him.3   For the LORD comforts Zion;    he comforts all her waste places  and makes her wilderness like Eden,    her desert like the garden of the LORD;  joy and gladness will be found in her,    thanksgiving and the voice of song. 4   “Give attention to me, my people,    and give ear to me, my nation;  for a law1 will go out from me,    and I will set my justice for a light to the peoples.5   My righteousness draws near,    my salvation has gone out,    and my arms will judge the peoples;  the coastlands hope for me,    and for my arm they wait.6   Lift up your eyes to the heavens,    and look at the earth beneath;  for the heavens vanish like smoke,    the earth will wear out like a garment,    and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;2  but my salvation will be forever,    and my righteousness will never be dismayed. 7   “Listen to me, you who know righteousness,    the people in whose heart is my law;  fear not the reproach of man,    nor be dismayed at their revilings.8   For the moth will eat them up like a garment,    and the worm will eat them like wool,  but my righteousness will be forever,    and my salvation to all generations.” 9   Awake, awake, put on strength,    O arm of the LORD;  awake, as in days of old,    the generations of long ago.  Was it not you who cut Rahab in pieces,    who pierced the dragon?10   Was it not you who dried up the sea,    the waters of the great deep,  who made the depths of the sea a way    for the redeemed to pass over?11   And the ransomed of the LORD shall return    and come to Zion with singing;  everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;    they shall obtain gladness and joy,    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. 12   “I, I am he who comforts you;    who are you that you are afraid of man who dies,    of the son of man who is made like grass,13   and have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,    who stretched out the heavens    and laid the foundations of the earth,  and you fear continually all the day    because of the wrath of the oppressor,  when he sets himself to destroy?    And where is the wrath of the oppressor?14   He who is bowed down shall speedily be released;    he shall not die and go down to the pit,    neither shall his bread be lacking.15   I am the LORD your God,    who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—    the LORD of hosts is his name.16   And I have put my words in your mouth    and covered you in the shadow of my hand,  establishing3 the heavens    and laying the foundations of the earth,    and saying to Zion, ‘You are my people.'” 17   Wake yourself, wake yourself,    stand up, O Jerusalem,  you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD    the cup of his wrath,  who have drunk to the dregs    the bowl, the cup of staggering.18   There is none to guide her    among all the sons she has borne;  there is none to take her by the hand    among all the sons she has brought up.19   These two things have happened to you—    who will console you?—  devastation and destruction, famine and sword;    who will comfort you?420   Your sons have fainted;    they lie at the head of every street    like an antelope in a net;  they are full of the wrath of the LORD,    the rebuke of your God. 21   Therefore hear this, you who are afflicted,    who are drunk, but not with wine:22   Thus says your Lord, the LORD,    your God who pleads the cause of his people:  “Behold, I have taken from your hand the cup of staggering;  the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;23   and I will put it into the hand of your tormentors,    who have said to you,    ‘Bow down, that we may pass over';  and you have made your back like the ground    and like the street for them to pass over.” The Lord's Coming Salvation 52   Awake, awake,    put on your strength, O Zion;  put on your beautiful garments,    O Jerusalem, the holy city;  for there shall no more come into you    the uncircumcised and the unclean.2   Shake yourself from the dust and arise;    be seated, O Jerusalem;  loose the bonds from your neck,    O captive daughter of Zion. 3 For thus says the LORD: “You were sold for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money.” 4 For thus says the Lord GOD: “My people went down at the first into Egypt to sojourn there, and the Assyrian oppressed them for nothing.5 5 Now therefore what have I here,” declares the LORD, “seeing that my people are taken away for nothing? Their rulers wail,” declares the LORD, “and continually all the day my name is despised. 6 Therefore my people shall know my name. Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak; here I am.” 7   How beautiful upon the mountains    are the feet of him who brings good news,  who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness,    who publishes salvation,    who says to Zion, “Your God reigns.”8   The voice of your watchmen—they lift up their voice;    together they sing for joy;  for eye to eye they see    the return of the LORD to Zion.9   Break forth together into singing,    you waste places of Jerusalem,  for the LORD has comforted his people;    he has redeemed Jerusalem.10   The LORD has bared his holy arm    before the eyes of all the nations,  and all the ends of the earth shall see    the salvation of our God. 11   Depart, depart, go out from there;    touch no unclean thing;  go out from the midst of her; purify yourselves,    you who bear the vessels of the LORD.12   For you shall not go out in haste,    and you shall not go in flight,  for the LORD will go before you,    and the God of Israel will be your rear guard. Footnotes [1] 51:4 Or for teaching; also verse 7 [2] 51:6 Or will die like gnats [3] 51:16 Or planting [4] 51:19 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate; Masoretic Text how shall I comfort you [5] 52:4 Or the Assyrian has oppressed them of late (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 11 Revelation 11 (Listen) The Two Witnesses 11 Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, 2 but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. 3 And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. 5 And if anyone would harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes. If anyone would harm them, this is how he is doomed to be killed. 6 They have the power to shut the sky, that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have power over the waters to turn them into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire. 7 And when they have finished their testimony, the beast that rises from the bottomless pit1 will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, 8 and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that symbolically2 is called Sodom and Egypt, where their Lord was crucified. 9 For three and a half days some from the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb, 10 and those who dwell on the earth will rejoice over them and make merry and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to those who dwell on the earth. 11 But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood up on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them. 12 Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies watched them. 13 And at that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven. 14 The second woe has passed; behold, the third woe is soon to come. The Seventh Trumpet 15 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” 16 And the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17 saying,

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 139 Psalm 139 (Listen) Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 139   O LORD, you have searched me and known me!2   You know when I sit down and when I rise up;    you discern my thoughts from afar.3   You search out my path and my lying down    and are acquainted with all my ways.4   Even before a word is on my tongue,    behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.5   You hem me in, behind and before,    and lay your hand upon me.6   Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;    it is high; I cannot attain it. 7   Where shall I go from your Spirit?    Or where shall I flee from your presence?8   If I ascend to heaven, you are there!    If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!9   If I take the wings of the morning    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,10   even there your hand shall lead me,    and your right hand shall hold me.11   If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,    and the light about me be night,”12   even the darkness is not dark to you;    the night is bright as the day,    for darkness is as light with you. 13   For you formed my inward parts;    you knitted me together in my mother's womb.14   I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.1  Wonderful are your works;    my soul knows it very well.15   My frame was not hidden from you,  when I was being made in secret,    intricately woven in the depths of the earth.16   Your eyes saw my unformed substance;  in your book were written, every one of them,    the days that were formed for me,    when as yet there was none of them. 17   How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!    How vast is the sum of them!18   If I would count them, they are more than the sand.    I awake, and I am still with you. 19   Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!    O men of blood, depart from me!20   They speak against you with malicious intent;    your enemies take your name in vain.221   Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?    And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?22   I hate them with complete hatred;    I count them my enemies. 23   Search me, O God, and know my heart!    Try me and know my thoughts!324   And see if there be any grievous way in me,    and lead me in the way everlasting!4 Footnotes [1] 139:14 Or for I am fearfully set apart [2] 139:20 Hebrew lacks your name [3] 139:23 Or cares [4] 139:24 Or in the ancient way (compare Jeremiah 6:16) (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 28 Job 28 (Listen) Job Continues: Where Is Wisdom? 28   “Surely there is a mine for silver,    and a place for gold that they refine.2   Iron is taken out of the earth,    and copper is smelted from the ore.3   Man puts an end to darkness    and searches out to the farthest limit    the ore in gloom and deep darkness.4   He opens shafts in a valley away from where anyone lives;    they are forgotten by travelers;    they hang in the air, far away from mankind; they swing to and fro.5   As for the earth, out of it comes bread,    but underneath it is turned up as by fire.6   Its stones are the place of sapphires,1    and it has dust of gold. 7   “That path no bird of prey knows,    and the falcon's eye has not seen it.8   The proud beasts have not trodden it;    the lion has not passed over it. 9   “Man puts his hand to the flinty rock    and overturns mountains by the roots.10   He cuts out channels in the rocks,    and his eye sees every precious thing.11   He dams up the streams so that they do not trickle,    and the thing that is hidden he brings out to light. 12   “But where shall wisdom be found?    And where is the place of understanding?13   Man does not know its worth,    and it is not found in the land of the living.14   The deep says, ‘It is not in me,'    and the sea says, ‘It is not with me.'15   It cannot be bought for gold,    and silver cannot be weighed as its price.16   It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,    in precious onyx or sapphire.17   Gold and glass cannot equal it,    nor can it be exchanged for jewels of fine gold.18   No mention shall be made of coral or of crystal;    the price of wisdom is above pearls.19   The topaz of Ethiopia cannot equal it,    nor can it be valued in pure gold. 20   “From where, then, does wisdom come?    And where is the place of understanding?21   It is hidden from the eyes of all living    and concealed from the birds of the air.22   Abaddon and Death say,    ‘We have heard a rumor of it with our ears.' 23   “God understands the way to it,    and he knows its place.24   For he looks to the ends of the earth    and sees everything under the heavens.25   When he gave to the wind its weight    and apportioned the waters by measure,26   when he made a decree for the rain    and a way for the lightning of the thunder,27   then he saw it and declared it;    he established it, and searched it out.28   And he said to man,  ‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,    and to turn away from evil is understanding.'” Footnotes [1] 28:6 Or lapis lazuli; also verse 16 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 50 Isaiah 50 (Listen) Israel's Sin and the Servant's Obedience 50   Thus says the LORD:  “Where is your mother's certificate of divorce,    with which I sent her away?  Or which of my creditors is it    to whom I have sold you?  Behold, for your iniquities you were sold,    and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.2   Why, when I came, was there no man;    why, when I called, was there no one to answer?  Is my hand shortened, that it cannot redeem?    Or have I no power to deliver?  Behold, by my rebuke I dry up the sea,    I make the rivers a desert;  their fish stink for lack of water    and die of thirst.3   I clothe the heavens with blackness    and make sackcloth their covering.” 4   The Lord GOD has given me    the tongue of those who are taught,  that I may know how to sustain with a word    him who is weary.  Morning by morning he awakens;    he awakens my ear    to hear as those who are taught.5   The Lord GOD has opened my ear,    and I was not rebellious;    I turned not backward.6   I gave my back to those who strike,    and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;  I hid not my face    from disgrace and spitting. 7   But the Lord GOD helps me;    therefore I have not been disgraced;  therefore I have set my face like a flint,    and I know that I shall not be put to shame.8     He who vindicates me is near.  Who will contend with me?    Let us stand up together.  Who is my adversary?    Let him come near to me.9   Behold, the Lord GOD helps me;    who will declare me guilty?  Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment;    the moth will eat them up. 10   Who among you fears the LORD    and obeys the voice of his servant?  Let him who walks in darkness    and has no light  trust in the name of the LORD    and rely on his God.11   Behold, all you who kindle a fire,    who equip yourselves with burning torches!  Walk by the light of your fire,    and by the torches that you have kindled!  This you have from my hand:    you shall lie down in torment. (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 10 Revelation 10 (Listen) The Angel and the Little Scroll 10 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. 2 He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, 3 and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring. When he called out, the seven thunders sounded. 4 And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” 5 And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land raised his right hand to heaven 6 and swore by him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and what is in it, that there would be no more delay, 7 but that in the days of the trumpet call to be sounded by the seventh angel, the mystery of God would be fulfilled, just as he announced to his servants the prophets. 8 Then the voice that I had heard from heaven spoke to me again, saying, “Go, take the scroll that is open in the hand of the angel who is standing on the sea and on the land.” 9 So I went to the angel and told him to give me the little scroll. And he said to me, “Take and eat it; it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey.” 10 And I took the little scroll from the hand of the angel and ate it. It was sweet as honey in my mouth, but when I had eaten it my stomach was made bitter. 11 And I was told, “You must again prophesy about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.” (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 138 Psalm 138 (Listen) Give Thanks to the Lord Of David. 138   I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;    before the gods I sing your praise;2   I bow down toward your holy temple    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,    for you have exalted above all things    your name and your word.13   On the day I called, you answered me;    my strength of soul you increased.2 4   All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O LORD,    for they have heard the words of your mouth,5   and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD,    for great is the glory of the LORD.6   For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly,    but the haughty he knows from afar. 7   Though I walk in the midst of trouble,    you preserve my life;  you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,    and your right hand delivers me.8   The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;    your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever.    Do not forsake the work of your hands. Footnotes [1] 138:2 Or you have exalted your word above all your name [2] 138:3 Hebrew you made me bold in my soul with strength (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 27 Job 27 (Listen) Job Continues: I Will Maintain My Integrity 27 And Job again took up his discourse, and said: 2   “As God lives, who has taken away my right,    and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,3   as long as my breath is in me,    and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,4   my lips will not speak falsehood,    and my tongue will not utter deceit.5   Far be it from me to say that you are right;    till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.6   I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;    my heart does not reproach me for any of my days. 7   “Let my enemy be as the wicked,    and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.8   For what is the hope of the godless when God cuts him off,    when God takes away his life?9   Will God hear his cry    when distress comes upon him?10   Will he take delight in the Almighty?    Will he call upon God at all times?11   I will teach you concerning the hand of God;    what is with the Almighty I will not conceal.12   Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;    why then have you become altogether vain? 13   “This is the portion of a wicked man with God,    and the heritage that oppressors receive from the Almighty:14   If his children are multiplied, it is for the sword,    and his descendants have not enough bread.15   Those who survive him the pestilence buries,    and his widows do not weep.16   Though he heap up silver like dust,    and pile up clothing like clay,17   he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,    and the innocent will divide the silver.18   He builds his house like a moth's,    like a booth that a watchman makes.19   He goes to bed rich, but will do so no more;    he opens his eyes, and his wealth is gone.20   Terrors overtake him like a flood;    in the night a whirlwind carries him off.21   The east wind lifts him up and he is gone;    it sweeps him out of his place.22   It1 hurls at him without pity;    he flees from its2 power in headlong flight.23   It claps its hands at him    and hisses at him from its place. Footnotes [1] 27:22 Or He (that is, God); also verse 23 [2] 27:22 Or his; also verse 23 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 48–49 Isaiah 48–49 (Listen) Israel Refined for God's Glory 48   Hear this, O house of Jacob,    who are called by the name of Israel,    and who came from the waters of Judah,  who swear by the name of the LORD    and confess the God of Israel,    but not in truth or right.2   For they call themselves after the holy city,    and stay themselves on the God of Israel;    the LORD of hosts is his name. 3   “The former things I declared of old;    they went out from my mouth, and I announced them;    then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.4   Because I know that you are obstinate,    and your neck is an iron sinew    and your forehead brass,5   I declared them to you from of old,    before they came to pass I announced them to you,  lest you should say, ‘My idol did them,    my carved image and my metal image commanded them.' 6   “You have heard; now see all this;    and will you not declare it?  From this time forth I announce to you new things,    hidden things that you have not known.7   They are created now, not long ago;    before today you have never heard of them,    lest you should say, ‘Behold, I knew them.'8   You have never heard, you have never known,    from of old your ear has not been opened.  For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously,    and that from before birth you were called a rebel. 9   “For my name's sake I defer my anger;    for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you,    that I may not cut you off.10   Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;    I have tried1 you in the furnace of affliction.11   For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it,    for how should my name2 be profaned?    My glory I will not give to another. The Lord's Call to Israel 12   “Listen to me, O Jacob,    and Israel, whom I called!  I am he; I am the first,    and I am the last.13   My hand laid the foundation of the earth,    and my right hand spread out the heavens;  when I call to them,    they stand forth together. 14   “Assemble, all of you, and listen!    Who among them has declared these things?  The LORD loves him;    he shall perform his purpose on Babylon,    and his arm shall be against the Chaldeans.15   I, even I, have spoken and called him;    I have brought him, and he will prosper in his way.16   Draw near to me, hear this:    from the beginning I have not spoken in secret,    from the time it came to be I have been there.”  And now the Lord GOD has sent me, and his Spirit. 17   Thus says the LORD,    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “I am the LORD your God,    who teaches you to profit,    who leads you in the way you should go.18   Oh that you had paid attention to my commandments!    Then your peace would have been like a river,    and your righteousness like the waves of the sea;19   your offspring would have been like the sand,    and your descendants like its grains;  their name would never be cut off    or destroyed from before me.” 20   Go out from Babylon, flee from Chaldea,    declare this with a shout of joy, proclaim it,  send it out to the end of the earth;    say, “The LORD has redeemed his servant Jacob!”21   They did not thirst when he led them through the deserts;    he made water flow for them from the rock;    he split the rock and the water gushed out. 22   “There is no peace,” says the LORD, “for the wicked.” The Servant of the Lord 49   Listen to me, O coastlands,    and give attention, you peoples from afar.  The LORD called me from the womb,    from the body of my mother he named my name.2   He made my mouth like a sharp sword;    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;  he made me a polished arrow;    in his quiver he hid me away.3   And he said to me, “You are my servant,    Israel, in whom I will be glorified.”34   But I said, “I have labored in vain;    I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;  yet surely my right is with the LORD,    and my recompense with my God.” 5   And now the LORD says,    he who formed me from the womb to be his servant,  to bring Jacob back to him;    and that Israel might be gathered to him—  for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD,    and my God has become my strength—6   he says:  “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant    to raise up the tribes of Jacob    and to bring back the preserved of Israel;  I will make you as a light for the nations,    that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” 7   Thus says the LORD,    the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One,  to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation,    the servant of rulers:  “Kings shall see and arise;    princes, and they shall prostrate themselves;  because of the LORD, who is faithful,    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.” The Restoration of Israel 8   Thus says the LORD:  “In a time of favor I have answered you;    in a day of salvation I have helped you;  I will keep you and give you    as a covenant to the people,  to establish the land,    to apportion the desolate heritages,9   saying to the prisoners, ‘Come out,'    to those who are in darkness, ‘Appear.'  They shall feed along the ways;    on all bare heights shall be their pasture;10   they shall not hunger or thirst,    neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike them,  for he who has pity on them will lead them,    and by springs of water will guide them.11   And I will make all my mountains a road,    and my highways shall be raised up.12   Behold, these shall come from afar,    and behold, these from the north and from the west,4    and these from the land of Syene.”5 13   Sing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;    break forth, O mountains, into singing!  For the LORD has comforted his people    and will have compassion on his afflicted. 14   But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;    my Lord has forgotten me.” 15   “Can a woman forget her nursing child,    that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?  Even these may forget,    yet I will not forget you.16   Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands;    your walls are continually before me.17   Your builders make haste;6    your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.18   Lift up your eyes around and see;    they all gather, they come to you.  As I live, declares the LORD,    you shall put them all on as an ornament;    you shall bind them on as a bride does. 19   “Surely your waste and your desolate places    and your devastated land—  surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,    and those who swallowed you up will be far away.20   The children of your bereavement    will yet say in your ears:  ‘The place is too narrow for me;    make room for me to dwell in.'21   Then you will say in your heart:    ‘Who has borne me these?  I was bereaved and barren,    exiled and put away,    but who has brought up these?  Behold, I was left alone;    from where have these come?'” 22   Thus says the Lord GOD:  “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,    and raise my signal to the peoples;  and they shall bring your sons in their arms,7    and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.23   Kings shall be your foster fathers,    and their queens your nursing mothers.  With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,    and lick the dust of your feet.  Then you will know that I am the LORD;    those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” 24   Can the prey be taken from the mighty,    or the captives of a tyrant8 be rescued?25   For thus says the LORD:

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 137 Psalm 137 (Listen) How Shall We Sing the Lord's Song? 137   By the waters of Babylon,    there we sat down and wept,    when we remembered Zion.2   On the willows1 there    we hung up our lyres.3   For there our captors    required of us songs,  and our tormentors, mirth, saying,    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” 4   How shall we sing the LORD's song    in a foreign land?5   If I forget you, O Jerusalem,    let my right hand forget its skill!6   Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,    if I do not remember you,  if I do not set Jerusalem    above my highest joy! 7   Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites    the day of Jerusalem,  how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,    down to its foundations!”8   O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,    blessed shall he be who repays you    with what you have done to us!9   Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones    and dashes them against the rock! Footnotes [1] 137:2 Or poplars (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 25–26 Job 25–26 (Listen) Bildad Speaks: Man Cannot Be Righteous 25 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “Dominion and fear are with God;1    he makes peace in his high heaven.3   Is there any number to his armies?    Upon whom does his light not arise?4   How then can man be in the right before God?    How can he who is born of woman be pure?5   Behold, even the moon is not bright,    and the stars are not pure in his eyes;6   how much less man, who is a maggot,    and the son of man, who is a worm!” Job Replies: God's Majesty Is Unsearchable 26 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How you have helped him who has no power!    How you have saved the arm that has no strength!3   How you have counseled him who has no wisdom,    and plentifully declared sound knowledge!4   With whose help have you uttered words,    and whose breath has come out from you?5   The dead tremble    under the waters and their inhabitants.6   Sheol is naked before God,2    and Abaddon has no covering.7   He stretches out the north over the void    and hangs the earth on nothing.8   He binds up the waters in his thick clouds,    and the cloud is not split open under them.9   He covers the face of the full moon3    and spreads over it his cloud.10   He has inscribed a circle on the face of the waters    at the boundary between light and darkness.11   The pillars of heaven tremble    and are astounded at his rebuke.12   By his power he stilled the sea;    by his understanding he shattered Rahab.13   By his wind the heavens were made fair;    his hand pierced the fleeing serpent.14   Behold, these are but the outskirts of his ways,    and how small a whisper do we hear of him!    But the thunder of his power who can understand?” Footnotes [1] 25:2 Hebrew him [2] 26:6 Hebrew him [3] 26:9 Or his throne (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 46–47 Isaiah 46–47 (Listen) The Idols of Babylon and the One True God 46   Bel bows down; Nebo stoops;    their idols are on beasts and livestock;  these things you carry are borne    as burdens on weary beasts.2   They stoop; they bow down together;    they cannot save the burden,    but themselves go into captivity. 3   “Listen to me, O house of Jacob,    all the remnant of the house of Israel,  who have been borne by me from before your birth,    carried from the womb;4   even to your old age I am he,    and to gray hairs I will carry you.  I have made, and I will bear;    I will carry and will save. 5   “To whom will you liken me and make me equal,    and compare me, that we may be alike?6   Those who lavish gold from the purse,    and weigh out silver in the scales,  hire a goldsmith, and he makes it into a god;    then they fall down and worship!7   They lift it to their shoulders, they carry it,    they set it in its place, and it stands there;    it cannot move from its place.  If one cries to it, it does not answer    or save him from his trouble. 8   “Remember this and stand firm,    recall it to mind, you transgressors,9     remember the former things of old;  for I am God, and there is no other;    I am God, and there is none like me,10   declaring the end from the beginning    and from ancient times things not yet done,  saying, ‘My counsel shall stand,    and I will accomplish all my purpose,'11   calling a bird of prey from the east,    the man of my counsel from a far country.  I have spoken, and I will bring it to pass;    I have purposed, and I will do it. 12   “Listen to me, you stubborn of heart,    you who are far from righteousness:13   I bring near my righteousness; it is not far off,    and my salvation will not delay;  I will put salvation in Zion,    for Israel my glory.” The Humiliation of Babylon 47   Come down and sit in the dust,    O virgin daughter of Babylon;  sit on the ground without a throne,    O daughter of the Chaldeans!  For you shall no more be called    tender and delicate.2   Take the millstones and grind flour,    put off your veil,  strip off your robe, uncover your legs,    pass through the rivers.3   Your nakedness shall be uncovered,    and your disgrace shall be seen.  I will take vengeance,    and I will spare no one.4   Our Redeemer—the LORD of hosts is his name—    is the Holy One of Israel. 5   Sit in silence, and go into darkness,    O daughter of the Chaldeans;  for you shall no more be called    the mistress of kingdoms.6   I was angry with my people;    I profaned my heritage;  I gave them into your hand;    you showed them no mercy;  on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy.7   You said, “I shall be mistress forever,”    so that you did not lay these things to heart    or remember their end. 8   Now therefore hear this, you lover of pleasures,    who sit securely,  who say in your heart,    “I am, and there is no one besides me;  I shall not sit as a widow    or know the loss of children”:9   These two things shall come to you    in a moment, in one day;  the loss of children and widowhood    shall come upon you in full measure,  in spite of your many sorceries    and the great power of your enchantments. 10   You felt secure in your wickedness;    you said, “No one sees me”;  your wisdom and your knowledge led you astray,  and you said in your heart,    “I am, and there is no one besides me.”11   But evil shall come upon you,    which you will not know how to charm away;  disaster shall fall upon you,    for which you will not be able to atone;  and ruin shall come upon you suddenly,    of which you know nothing. 12   Stand fast in your enchantments    and your many sorceries,    with which you have labored from your youth;  perhaps you may be able to succeed;    perhaps you may inspire terror.13   You are wearied with your many counsels;    let them stand forth and save you,  those who divide the heavens,    who gaze at the stars,  who at the new moons make known    what shall come upon you. 14   Behold, they are like stubble;    the fire consumes them;  they cannot deliver themselves    from the power of the flame.  No coal for warming oneself is this,    no fire to sit before!15   Such to you are those with whom you have labored,    who have done business with you from your youth;  they wander about, each in his own direction;    there is no one to save you. (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 7–8:5 Revelation 7–8:5 (Listen) The 144,000 of Israel Sealed 7 After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth, that no wind might blow on earth or sea or against any tree. 2 Then I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, 3 saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.” 4 And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel: 5   12,000 from the tribe of Judah were sealed,  12,000 from the tribe of Reuben,  12,000 from the tribe of Gad,6   12,000 from the tribe of Asher,  12,000 from the tribe of Naphtali,  12,000 from the tribe of Manasseh,7   12,000 from the tribe of Simeon,  12,000 from the tribe of Levi,  12,000 from the tribe of Issachar,8   12,000 from the tribe of Zebulun,  12,000 from the tribe of Joseph,  12,000 from the tribe of Benjamin were sealed. A Great Multitude from Every Nation 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15   “Therefore they are before the throne of God,    and serve him day and night in his temple;    and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.16   They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;    the sun shall not strike them,    nor any scorching heat.17   For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,    and he will guide them to springs of living water,  and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The Seventh Seal and the Golden Censer 8 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. 2 Then I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, 4 and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. 5 Then the angel took the censer and filled it with fire from the altar and threw it on the earth, and there were peals of thunder, rumblings,1 flashes of lightning, and an earthquake. Footnotes [1] 8:5 Or voices, or sounds (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 136 Psalm 136 (Listen) His Steadfast Love Endures Forever 136   Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,    for his steadfast love endures forever.2   Give thanks to the God of gods,    for his steadfast love endures forever.3   Give thanks to the Lord of lords,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 4   to him who alone does great wonders,    for his steadfast love endures forever;5   to him who by understanding made the heavens,    for his steadfast love endures forever;6   to him who spread out the earth above the waters,    for his steadfast love endures forever;7   to him who made the great lights,    for his steadfast love endures forever;8   the sun to rule over the day,    for his steadfast love endures forever;9   the moon and stars to rule over the night,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 10   to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,    for his steadfast love endures forever;11   and brought Israel out from among them,    for his steadfast love endures forever;12   with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,    for his steadfast love endures forever;13   to him who divided the Red Sea in two,    for his steadfast love endures forever;14   and made Israel pass through the midst of it,    for his steadfast love endures forever;15   but overthrew1 Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea,    for his steadfast love endures forever;16   to him who led his people through the wilderness,    for his steadfast love endures forever; 17   to him who struck down great kings,    for his steadfast love endures forever;18   and killed mighty kings,    for his steadfast love endures forever;19   Sihon, king of the Amorites,    for his steadfast love endures forever;20   and Og, king of Bashan,    for his steadfast love endures forever;21   and gave their land as a heritage,    for his steadfast love endures forever;22   a heritage to Israel his servant,    for his steadfast love endures forever. 23   It is he who remembered us in our low estate,    for his steadfast love endures forever;24   and rescued us from our foes,    for his steadfast love endures forever;25   he who gives food to all flesh,    for his steadfast love endures forever. 26   Give thanks to the God of heaven,    for his steadfast love endures forever. Footnotes [1] 136:15 Hebrew shook off (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 23–24 Job 23–24 (Listen) Job Replies: Where Is God? 23 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Today also my complaint is bitter;1    my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.3   Oh, that I knew where I might find him,    that I might come even to his seat!4   I would lay my case before him    and fill my mouth with arguments.5   I would know what he would answer me    and understand what he would say to me.6   Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power?    No; he would pay attention to me.7   There an upright man could argue with him,    and I would be acquitted forever by my judge. 8   “Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,    and backward, but I do not perceive him;9   on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;    he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him.10   But he knows the way that I take;    when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.11   My foot has held fast to his steps;    I have kept his way and have not turned aside.12   I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;    I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.13   But he is unchangeable,2 and who can turn him back?    What he desires, that he does.14   For he will complete what he appoints for me,    and many such things are in his mind.15   Therefore I am terrified at his presence;    when I consider, I am in dread of him.16   God has made my heart faint;    the Almighty has terrified me;17   yet I am not silenced because of the darkness,    nor because thick darkness covers my face. 24   “Why are not times of judgment kept by the Almighty,    and why do those who know him never see his days?2   Some move landmarks;    they seize flocks and pasture them.3   They drive away the donkey of the fatherless;    they take the widow's ox for a pledge.4   They thrust the poor off the road;    the poor of the earth all hide themselves.5   Behold, like wild donkeys in the desert    the poor3 go out to their toil, seeking game;    the wasteland yields food for their children.6   They gather their4 fodder in the field,    and they glean the vineyard of the wicked man.7   They lie all night naked, without clothing,    and have no covering in the cold.8   They are wet with the rain of the mountains    and cling to the rock for lack of shelter.9   (There are those who snatch the fatherless child from the breast,    and they take a pledge against the poor.)10   They go about naked, without clothing;    hungry, they carry the sheaves;11   among the olive rows of the wicked5 they make oil;    they tread the winepresses, but suffer thirst.12   From out of the city the dying6 groan,    and the soul of the wounded cries for help;    yet God charges no one with wrong. 13   “There are those who rebel against the light,    who are not acquainted with its ways,    and do not stay in its paths.14   The murderer rises before it is light,    that he may kill the poor and needy,    and in the night he is like a thief.15   The eye of the adulterer also waits for the twilight,    saying, ‘No eye will see me';    and he veils his face.16   In the dark they dig through houses;    by day they shut themselves up;    they do not know the light.17   For deep darkness is morning to all of them;    for they are friends with the terrors of deep darkness. 18   “You say, ‘Swift are they on the face of the waters;    their portion is cursed in the land;    no treader turns toward their vineyards.19   Drought and heat snatch away the snow waters;    so does Sheol those who have sinned.20   The womb forgets them;    the worm finds them sweet;  they are no longer remembered,    so wickedness is broken like a tree.' 21   “They wrong the barren, childless woman,    and do no good to the widow.22   Yet God7 prolongs the life of the mighty by his power;    they rise up when they despair of life.23   He gives them security, and they are supported,    and his eyes are upon their ways.24   They are exalted a little while, and then are gone;    they are brought low and gathered up like all others;    they are cut off like the heads of grain.25   If it is not so, who will prove me a liar    and show that there is nothing in what I say?” Footnotes [1] 23:2 Or defiant [2] 23:13 Or one [3] 24:5 Hebrew they [4] 24:6 Hebrew his [5] 24:11 Hebrew their olive rows [6] 24:12 Or the men [7] 24:22 Hebrew he (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 45 Isaiah 45 (Listen) Cyrus, God's Instrument 45   Thus says the LORD to his anointed, to Cyrus,    whose right hand I have grasped,  to subdue nations before him    and to loose the belts of kings,  to open doors before him    that gates may not be closed:2   “I will go before you    and level the exalted places,1  I will break in pieces the doors of bronze    and cut through the bars of iron,3   I will give you the treasures of darkness    and the hoards in secret places,  that you may know that it is I, the LORD,    the God of Israel, who call you by your name.4   For the sake of my servant Jacob,    and Israel my chosen,  I call you by your name,    I name you, though you do not know me.5   I am the LORD, and there is no other,    besides me there is no God;    I equip you, though you do not know me,6   that people may know, from the rising of the sun    and from the west, that there is none besides me;    I am the LORD, and there is no other.7   I form light and create darkness;    I make well-being and create calamity;    I am the LORD, who does all these things. 8   “Shower, O heavens, from above,    and let the clouds rain down righteousness;  let the earth open, that salvation and righteousness may bear fruit;    let the earth cause them both to sprout;    I the LORD have created it. 9   “Woe to him who strives with him who formed him,    a pot among earthen pots!  Does the clay say to him who forms it, ‘What are you making?'    or ‘Your work has no handles'?10   Woe to him who says to a father, ‘What are you begetting?'    or to a woman, ‘With what are you in labor?'” 11   Thus says the LORD,    the Holy One of Israel, and the one who formed him:  “Ask me of things to come;    will you command me concerning my children and the work of my hands?212   I made the earth    and created man on it;  it was my hands that stretched out the heavens,    and I commanded all their host.13   I have stirred him up in righteousness,    and I will make all his ways level;  he shall build my city    and set my exiles free,  not for price or reward,”    says the LORD of hosts. The Lord, the Only Savior 14   Thus says the LORD:  “The wealth of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,    and the Sabeans, men of stature,  shall come over to you and be yours;    they shall follow you;    they shall come over in chains and bow down to you.  They will plead with you, saying:    ‘Surely God is in you, and there is no other,    no god besides him.'” 15   Truly, you are a God who hides himself,    O God of Israel, the Savior.16   All of them are put to shame and confounded;    the makers of idols go in confusion together.17   But Israel is saved by the LORD    with everlasting salvation;  you shall not be put to shame or confounded    to all eternity. 18   For thus says the LORD,  who created the heavens    (he is God!),  who formed the earth and made it    (he established it;  he did not create it empty,    he formed it to be inhabited!):  “I am the LORD, and there is no other.19   I did not speak in secret,    in a land of darkness;  I did not say to the offspring of Jacob,    ‘Seek me in vain.'3  I the LORD speak the truth;    I declare what is right. 20   “Assemble yourselves and come;    draw near together,    you survivors of the nations!  They have no knowledge    who carry about their wooden idols,  and keep on praying to a god    that cannot save.21   Declare and present your case;    let them take counsel together!  Who told this long ago?    Who declared it of old?  Was it not I, the LORD?    And there is no other god besides me,  a righteous God and a Savior;    there is none besides me. 22   “Turn to me and be saved,    all the ends of the earth!    For I am God, and there is no other.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 135 Psalm 135 (Listen) Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever 135   Praise the LORD!  Praise the name of the LORD,    give praise, O servants of the LORD,2   who stand in the house of the LORD,    in the courts of the house of our God!3   Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!14   For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,    Israel as his own possession. 5   For I know that the LORD is great,    and that our Lord is above all gods.6   Whatever the LORD pleases, he does,    in heaven and on earth,    in the seas and all deeps.7   He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,    who makes lightnings for the rain    and brings forth the wind from his storehouses. 8   He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,    both of man and of beast;9   who in your midst, O Egypt,    sent signs and wonders    against Pharaoh and all his servants;10   who struck down many nations    and killed mighty kings,11   Sihon, king of the Amorites,    and Og, king of Bashan,    and all the kingdoms of Canaan,12   and gave their land as a heritage,    a heritage to his people Israel. 13   Your name, O LORD, endures forever,    your renown,2 O LORD, throughout all ages.14   For the LORD will vindicate his people    and have compassion on his servants. 15   The idols of the nations are silver and gold,    the work of human hands.16   They have mouths, but do not speak;    they have eyes, but do not see;17   they have ears, but do not hear,    nor is there any breath in their mouths.18   Those who make them become like them,    so do all who trust in them. 19   O house of Israel, bless the LORD!    O house of Aaron, bless the LORD!20   O house of Levi, bless the LORD!    You who fear the LORD, bless the LORD!21   Blessed be the LORD from Zion,    he who dwells in Jerusalem!  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 135:3 Or for he is beautiful [2] 135:13 Or remembrance (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 22 Job 22 (Listen) Eliphaz Speaks: Job's Wickedness Is Great 22 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2   “Can a man be profitable to God?    Surely he who is wise is profitable to himself.3   Is it any pleasure to the Almighty if you are in the right,    or is it gain to him if you make your ways blameless?4   Is it for your fear of him that he reproves you    and enters into judgment with you?5   Is not your evil abundant?    There is no end to your iniquities.6   For you have exacted pledges of your brothers for nothing    and stripped the naked of their clothing.7   You have given no water to the weary to drink,    and you have withheld bread from the hungry.8   The man with power possessed the land,    and the favored man lived in it.9   You have sent widows away empty,    and the arms of the fatherless were crushed.10   Therefore snares are all around you,    and sudden terror overwhelms you,11   or darkness, so that you cannot see,    and a flood of water covers you. 12   “Is not God high in the heavens?    See the highest stars, how lofty they are!13   But you say, ‘What does God know?    Can he judge through the deep darkness?14   Thick clouds veil him, so that he does not see,    and he walks on the vault of heaven.'15   Will you keep to the old way    that wicked men have trod?16   They were snatched away before their time;    their foundation was washed away.117   They said to God, ‘Depart from us,'    and ‘What can the Almighty do to us?'218   Yet he filled their houses with good things—    but the counsel of the wicked is far from me.19   The righteous see it and are glad;    the innocent one mocks at them,20   saying, ‘Surely our adversaries are cut off,    and what they left the fire has consumed.' 21   “Agree with God, and be at peace;    thereby good will come to you.22   Receive instruction from his mouth,    and lay up his words in your heart.23   If you return to the Almighty you will be built up;    if you remove injustice far from your tents,24   if you lay gold in the dust,    and gold of Ophir among the stones of the torrent-bed,25   then the Almighty will be your gold    and your precious silver.26   For then you will delight yourself in the Almighty    and lift up your face to God.27   You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you,    and you will pay your vows.28   You will decide on a matter, and it will be established for you,    and light will shine on your ways.29   For when they are humbled you say, ‘It is because of pride';3    but he saves the lowly.30   He delivers even the one who is not innocent,    who will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands.” Footnotes [1] 22:16 Or their foundation was poured out as a stream (or river) [2] 22:17 Hebrew them [3] 22:29 Or you say, ‘It is exaltation' (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 44:6–28 Isaiah 44:6–28 (Listen) Besides Me There Is No God 6   Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel    and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts:  “I am the first and I am the last;    besides me there is no god.7   Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.1    Let him declare and set it before me,  since I appointed an ancient people.    Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.8   Fear not, nor be afraid;    have I not told you from of old and declared it?    And you are my witnesses!  Is there a God besides me?    There is no Rock; I know not any.” The Folly of Idolatry 9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame. 10 Who fashions a god or casts an idol that is profitable for nothing? 11 Behold, all his companions shall be put to shame, and the craftsmen are only human. Let them all assemble, let them stand forth. They shall be terrified; they shall be put to shame together. 12 The ironsmith takes a cutting tool and works it over the coals. He fashions it with hammers and works it with his strong arm. He becomes hungry, and his strength fails; he drinks no water and is faint. 13 The carpenter stretches a line; he marks it out with a pencil.2 He shapes it with planes and marks it with a compass. He shapes it into the figure of a man, with the beauty of a man, to dwell in a house. 14 He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it. 16 Half of it he burns in the fire. Over the half he eats meat; he roasts it and is satisfied. Also he warms himself and says, “Aha, I am warm, I have seen the fire!” 17 And the rest of it he makes into a god, his idol, and falls down to it and worships it. He prays to it and says, “Deliver me, for you are my god!” 18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand. 19 No one considers, nor is there knowledge or discernment to say, “Half of it I burned in the fire; I also baked bread on its coals; I roasted meat and have eaten. And shall I make the rest of it an abomination? Shall I fall down before a block of wood?” 20 He feeds on ashes; a deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” The Lord Redeems Israel 21   Remember these things, O Jacob,    and Israel, for you are my servant;  I formed you; you are my servant;    O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.22   I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud    and your sins like mist;  return to me, for I have redeemed you. 23   Sing, O heavens, for the LORD has done it;    shout, O depths of the earth;  break forth into singing, O mountains,    O forest, and every tree in it!  For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,    and will be glorified3 in Israel. 24   Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer,    who formed you from the womb:  “I am the LORD, who made all things,    who alone stretched out the heavens,    who spread out the earth by myself,25   who frustrates the signs of liars    and makes fools of diviners,  who turns wise men back    and makes their knowledge foolish,26   who confirms the word of his servant    and fulfills the counsel of his messengers,  who says of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be inhabited,'    and of the cities of Judah, ‘They shall be built,    and I will raise up their ruins';27   who says to the deep, ‘Be dry;    I will dry up your rivers';28   who says of Cyrus, ‘He is my shepherd,    and he shall fulfill all my purpose';  saying of Jerusalem, ‘She shall be built,'    and of the temple, ‘Your foundation shall be laid.'” Footnotes [1] 44:7 Or Who like me can proclaim it? [2] 44:13 Hebrew stylus [3] 44:23 Or will display his beauty (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 5 Revelation 5 (Listen) The Scroll and the Lamb 5 Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals. 2 And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. 5 And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. 7 And he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,   “Worthy are you to take the scroll    and to open its seals,  for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God    from every tribe and language and people and nation,10   and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,    and they shall reign on the earth.” 11 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice,   “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,  to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might  and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying,   “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb  be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 134 Psalm 134 (Listen) Come, Bless the Lord A Song of Ascents. 134   Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,    who stand by night in the house of the LORD!2   Lift up your hands to the holy place    and bless the LORD! 3   May the LORD bless you from Zion,    he who made heaven and earth! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 21 Job 21 (Listen) Job Replies: The Wicked Do Prosper 21 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Keep listening to my words,    and let this be your comfort.3   Bear with me, and I will speak,    and after I have spoken, mock on.4   As for me, is my complaint against man?    Why should I not be impatient?5   Look at me and be appalled,    and lay your hand over your mouth.6   When I remember, I am dismayed,    and shuddering seizes my flesh.7   Why do the wicked live,    reach old age, and grow mighty in power?8   Their offspring are established in their presence,    and their descendants before their eyes.9   Their houses are safe from fear,    and no rod of God is upon them.10   Their bull breeds without fail;    their cow calves and does not miscarry.11   They send out their little boys like a flock,    and their children dance.12   They sing to the tambourine and the lyre    and rejoice to the sound of the pipe.13   They spend their days in prosperity,    and in peace they go down to Sheol.14   They say to God, ‘Depart from us!    We do not desire the knowledge of your ways.15   What is the Almighty, that we should serve him?    And what profit do we get if we pray to him?'16   Behold, is not their prosperity in their hand?    The counsel of the wicked is far from me. 17   “How often is it that the lamp of the wicked is put out?    That their calamity comes upon them?    That God1 distributes pains in his anger?18   That they are like straw before the wind,    and like chaff that the storm carries away?19   You say, ‘God stores up their iniquity for their children.'    Let him pay it out to them, that they may know it.20   Let their own eyes see their destruction,    and let them drink of the wrath of the Almighty.21   For what do they care for their houses after them,    when the number of their months is cut off?22   Will any teach God knowledge,    seeing that he judges those who are on high?23   One dies in his full vigor,    being wholly at ease and secure,24   his pails2 full of milk    and the marrow of his bones moist.25   Another dies in bitterness of soul,    never having tasted of prosperity.26   They lie down alike in the dust,    and the worms cover them. 27   “Behold, I know your thoughts    and your schemes to wrong me.28   For you say, ‘Where is the house of the prince?    Where is the tent in which the wicked lived?'29   Have you not asked those who travel the roads,    and do you not accept their testimony30   that the evil man is spared in the day of calamity,    that he is rescued in the day of wrath?31   Who declares his way to his face,    and who repays him for what he has done?32   When he is carried to the grave,    watch is kept over his tomb.33   The clods of the valley are sweet to him;    all mankind follows after him,    and those who go before him are innumerable.34   How then will you comfort me with empty nothings?    There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.” Footnotes [1] 21:17 Hebrew he [2] 21:24 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 43–44:5 Isaiah 43–44:5 (Listen) Israel's Only Savior 43   But now thus says the LORD,  he who created you, O Jacob,    he who formed you, O Israel:  “Fear not, for I have redeemed you;    I have called you by name, you are mine.2   When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;    and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;  when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,    and the flame shall not consume you.3   For I am the LORD your God,    the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.  I give Egypt as your ransom,    Cush and Seba in exchange for you.4   Because you are precious in my eyes,    and honored, and I love you,  I give men in return for you,    peoples in exchange for your life.5   Fear not, for I am with you;    I will bring your offspring from the east,    and from the west I will gather you.6   I will say to the north, Give up,    and to the south, Do not withhold;  bring my sons from afar    and my daughters from the end of the earth,7   everyone who is called by my name,    whom I created for my glory,    whom I formed and made.” 8   Bring out the people who are blind, yet have eyes,    who are deaf, yet have ears!9   All the nations gather together,    and the peoples assemble.  Who among them can declare this,    and show us the former things?  Let them bring their witnesses to prove them right,    and let them hear and say, It is true.10   “You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD,    “and my servant whom I have chosen,  that you may know and believe me    and understand that I am he.  Before me no god was formed,    nor shall there be any after me.11   I, I am the LORD,    and besides me there is no savior.12   I declared and saved and proclaimed,    when there was no strange god among you;    and you are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and I am God.13   Also henceforth I am he;    there is none who can deliver from my hand;    I work, and who can turn it back?” 14   Thus says the LORD,    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:  “For your sake I send to Babylon    and bring them all down as fugitives,    even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.15   I am the LORD, your Holy One,    the Creator of Israel, your King.” 16   Thus says the LORD,    who makes a way in the sea,    a path in the mighty waters,17   who brings forth chariot and horse,    army and warrior;  they lie down, they cannot rise,    they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:18   “Remember not the former things,    nor consider the things of old.19   Behold, I am doing a new thing;    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?  I will make a way in the wilderness    and rivers in the desert.20   The wild beasts will honor me,    the jackals and the ostriches,  for I give water in the wilderness,    rivers in the desert,  to give drink to my chosen people,21     the people whom I formed for myself  that they might declare my praise. 22   “Yet you did not call upon me, O Jacob;    but you have been weary of me, O Israel!23   You have not brought me your sheep for burnt offerings,    or honored me with your sacrifices.  I have not burdened you with offerings,    or wearied you with frankincense.24   You have not bought me sweet cane with money,    or satisfied me with the fat of your sacrifices.  But you have burdened me with your sins;    you have wearied me with your iniquities. 25   “I, I am he    who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,    and I will not remember your sins.26   Put me in remembrance; let us argue together;    set forth your case, that you may be proved right.27   Your first father sinned,    and your mediators transgressed against me.28   Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary,    and deliver Jacob to utter destruction    and Israel to reviling. Israel the Lord's Chosen 44   “But now hear, O Jacob my servant,    Israel whom I have chosen!2   Thus says the LORD who made you,    who formed you from the womb and will help you:  Fear not, O Jacob my servant,    Jeshurun whom I have chosen.3   For I will pour water on the thirsty land,    and streams on the dry ground;  I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring,    and my blessing on your descendants.4   They shall spring up among the grass    like willows by flowing streams.5   This one will say, ‘I am the LORD's,'    another will call on the name of Jacob,  and another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD's,'    and name himself by the name of Israel.” (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 4 Revelation 4 (Listen) The Throne in Heaven 4 After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” 2 At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne. 3 And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads. 5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings1 and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, 6 and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: 7 the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight. 8 And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say,   “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,    who was and is and is to come!” 9 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 10 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 11   “Worthy are you, our Lord and God,    to receive glory and honor and power,  for you created all things,    and by your will they existed and were created.” Footnotes [1] 4:5 Or voices, or sounds (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 133 Psalm 133 (Listen) When Brothers Dwell in Unity A Song of Ascents. Of David. 133   Behold, how good and pleasant it is    when brothers dwell in unity!12   It is like the precious oil on the head,    running down on the beard,  on the beard of Aaron,    running down on the collar of his robes!3   It is like the dew of Hermon,    which falls on the mountains of Zion!  For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,    life forevermore. Footnotes [1] 133:1 Or dwell together (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 20 Job 20 (Listen) Zophar Speaks: The Wicked Will Suffer 20 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2   “Therefore my thoughts answer me,    because of my haste within me.3   I hear censure that insults me,    and out of my understanding a spirit answers me.4   Do you not know this from of old,    since man was placed on earth,5   that the exulting of the wicked is short,    and the joy of the godless but for a moment?6   Though his height mount up to the heavens,    and his head reach to the clouds,7   he will perish forever like his own dung;    those who have seen him will say, ‘Where is he?'8   He will fly away like a dream and not be found;    he will be chased away like a vision of the night.9   The eye that saw him will see him no more,    nor will his place any more behold him.10   His children will seek the favor of the poor,    and his hands will give back his wealth.11   His bones are full of his youthful vigor,    but it will lie down with him in the dust. 12   “Though evil is sweet in his mouth,    though he hides it under his tongue,13   though he is loath to let it go    and holds it in his mouth,14   yet his food is turned in his stomach;    it is the venom of cobras within him.15   He swallows down riches and vomits them up again;    God casts them out of his belly.16   He will suck the poison of cobras;    the tongue of a viper will kill him.17   He will not look upon the rivers,    the streams flowing with honey and curds.18   He will give back the fruit of his toil    and will not swallow it down;  from the profit of his trading    he will get no enjoyment.19   For he has crushed and abandoned the poor;    he has seized a house that he did not build. 20   “Because he knew no contentment in his belly,    he will not let anything in which he delights escape him.21   There was nothing left after he had eaten;    therefore his prosperity will not endure.22   In the fullness of his sufficiency he will be in distress;    the hand of everyone in misery will come against him.23   To fill his belly to the full,    God1 will send his burning anger against him    and rain it upon him into his body.24   He will flee from an iron weapon;    a bronze arrow will strike him through.25   It is drawn forth and comes out of his body;    the glittering point comes out of his gallbladder;    terrors come upon him.26   Utter darkness is laid up for his treasures;    a fire not fanned will devour him;    what is left in his tent will be consumed.27   The heavens will reveal his iniquity,    and the earth will rise up against him.28   The possessions of his house will be carried away,    dragged off in the day of God's2 wrath.29   This is the wicked man's portion from God,    the heritage decreed for him by God.” Footnotes [1] 20:23 Hebrew he [2] 20:28 Hebrew his (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 42 Isaiah 42 (Listen) The Lord's Chosen Servant 42   Behold my servant, whom I uphold,    my chosen, in whom my soul delights;  I have put my Spirit upon him;    he will bring forth justice to the nations.2   He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,    or make it heard in the street;3   a bruised reed he will not break,    and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;    he will faithfully bring forth justice.4   He will not grow faint or be discouraged1    till he has established justice in the earth;    and the coastlands wait for his law. 5   Thus says God, the LORD,    who created the heavens and stretched them out,    who spread out the earth and what comes from it,  who gives breath to the people on it    and spirit to those who walk in it:6   “I am the LORD; I have called you2 in righteousness;    I will take you by the hand and keep you;  I will give you as a covenant for the people,    a light for the nations,7     to open the eyes that are blind,  to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon,    from the prison those who sit in darkness.8   I am the LORD; that is my name;    my glory I give to no other,    nor my praise to carved idols.9   Behold, the former things have come to pass,    and new things I now declare;  before they spring forth    I tell you of them.” Sing to the Lord a New Song 10   Sing to the LORD a new song,    his praise from the end of the earth,  you who go down to the sea, and all that fills it,    the coastlands and their inhabitants.11   Let the desert and its cities lift up their voice,    the villages that Kedar inhabits;  let the habitants of Sela sing for joy,    let them shout from the top of the mountains.12   Let them give glory to the LORD,    and declare his praise in the coastlands.13   The LORD goes out like a mighty man,    like a man of war he stirs up his zeal;  he cries out, he shouts aloud,    he shows himself mighty against his foes. 14   For a long time I have held my peace;    I have kept still and restrained myself;  now I will cry out like a woman in labor;    I will gasp and pant.15   I will lay waste mountains and hills,    and dry up all their vegetation;  I will turn the rivers into islands,3    and dry up the pools.16   And I will lead the blind    in a way that they do not know,  in paths that they have not known    I will guide them.  I will turn the darkness before them into light,    the rough places into level ground.  These are the things I do,    and I do not forsake them.17   They are turned back and utterly put to shame,    who trust in carved idols,  who say to metal images,    “You are our gods.” Israel's Failure to Hear and See 18   Hear, you deaf,    and look, you blind, that you may see!19   Who is blind but my servant,    or deaf as my messenger whom I send?  Who is blind as my dedicated one,4    or blind as the servant of the LORD?20   He sees many things, but does not observe them;    his ears are open, but he does not hear.21   The LORD was pleased, for his righteousness' sake,    to magnify his law and make it glorious.22   But this is a people plundered and looted;    they are all of them trapped in holes    and hidden in prisons;  they have become plunder with none to rescue,    spoil with none to say, “Restore!”23   Who among you will give ear to this,    will attend and listen for the time to come?24   Who gave up Jacob to the looter,    and Israel to the plunderers?  Was it not the LORD, against whom we have sinned,    in whose ways they would not walk,    and whose law they would not obey?25   So he poured on him the heat of his anger    and the might of battle;  it set him on fire all around, but he did not understand;    it burned him up, but he did not take it to heart. Footnotes [1] 42:4 Or bruised [2] 42:6 The Hebrew for you is singular; four times in this verse [3] 42:15 Or into coastlands [4] 42:19 Or as the one at peace with me (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 3 Revelation 3 (Listen) To the Church in Sardis 3 “And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. “‘I know your works. You have the reputation of being alive, but you are dead. 2 Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. 3 Remember, then, what you received and heard. Keep it, and repent. If you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come against you. 4 Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. 5 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' To the Church in Philadelphia 7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: ‘The words of the holy one, the true one, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. 8 “‘I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. 9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie—behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. 10 Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11 I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. 12 The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. 13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.' To the Church in Laodicea 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. 15 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. 21 The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.'” (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 132 Psalm 132 (Listen) The Lord Has Chosen Zion A Song of Ascents. 132   Remember, O LORD, in David's favor,    all the hardships he endured,2   how he swore to the LORD    and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,3   “I will not enter my house    or get into my bed,4   I will not give sleep to my eyes    or slumber to my eyelids,5   until I find a place for the LORD,    a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.” 6   Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;    we found it in the fields of Jaar.7   “Let us go to his dwelling place;    let us worship at his footstool!” 8   Arise, O LORD, and go to your resting place,    you and the ark of your might.9   Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,    and let your saints shout for joy.10   For the sake of your servant David,    do not turn away the face of your anointed one. 11   The LORD swore to David a sure oath    from which he will not turn back:  “One of the sons of your body1    I will set on your throne.12   If your sons keep my covenant    and my testimonies that I shall teach them,  their sons also forever    shall sit on your throne.” 13   For the LORD has chosen Zion;    he has desired it for his dwelling place:14   “This is my resting place forever;    here I will dwell, for I have desired it.15   I will abundantly bless her provisions;    I will satisfy her poor with bread.16   Her priests I will clothe with salvation,    and her saints will shout for joy.17   There I will make a horn to sprout for David;    I have prepared a lamp for my anointed.18   His enemies I will clothe with shame,    but on him his crown will shine.” Footnotes [1] 132:11 Hebrew of your fruit of the womb (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 19 Job 19 (Listen) Job Replies: My Redeemer Lives 19 Then Job answered and said: 2   “How long will you torment me    and break me in pieces with words?3   These ten times you have cast reproach upon me;    are you not ashamed to wrong me?4   And even if it be true that I have erred,    my error remains with myself.5   If indeed you magnify yourselves against me    and make my disgrace an argument against me,6   know then that God has put me in the wrong    and closed his net about me.7   Behold, I cry out, ‘Violence!' but I am not answered;    I call for help, but there is no justice.8   He has walled up my way, so that I cannot pass,    and he has set darkness upon my paths.9   He has stripped from me my glory    and taken the crown from my head.10   He breaks me down on every side, and I am gone,    and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.11   He has kindled his wrath against me    and counts me as his adversary.12   His troops come on together;    they have cast up their siege ramp1 against me    and encamp around my tent. 13   “He has put my brothers far from me,    and those who knew me are wholly estranged from me.14   My relatives have failed me,    my close friends have forgotten me.15   The guests in my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;    I have become a foreigner in their eyes.16   I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;    I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.17   My breath is strange to my wife,    and I am a stench to the children of my own mother.18   Even young children despise me;    when I rise they talk against me.19   All my intimate friends abhor me,    and those whom I loved have turned against me.20   My bones stick to my skin and to my flesh,    and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.21   Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,    for the hand of God has touched me!22   Why do you, like God, pursue me?    Why are you not satisfied with my flesh? 23   “Oh that my words were written!    Oh that they were inscribed in a book!24   Oh that with an iron pen and lead    they were engraved in the rock forever!25   For I know that my Redeemer lives,    and at the last he will stand upon the earth.226   And after my skin has been thus destroyed,    yet in3 my flesh I shall see God,27   whom I shall see for myself,    and my eyes shall behold, and not another.    My heart faints within me!28   If you say, ‘How we will pursue him!'    and, ‘The root of the matter is found in him,'429   be afraid of the sword,    for wrath brings the punishment of the sword,    that you may know there is a judgment.” Footnotes [1] 19:12 Hebrew their way [2] 19:25 Hebrew dust [3] 19:26 Or without [4] 19:28 Many Hebrew manuscripts in me (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 41 Isaiah 41 (Listen) Fear Not, for I Am with You 41   Listen to me in silence, O coastlands;    let the peoples renew their strength;  let them approach, then let them speak;    let us together draw near for judgment. 2   Who stirred up one from the east    whom victory meets at every step?1  He gives up nations before him,    so that he tramples kings underfoot;  he makes them like dust with his sword,    like driven stubble with his bow.3   He pursues them and passes on safely,    by paths his feet have not trod.4   Who has performed and done this,    calling the generations from the beginning?  I, the LORD, the first,    and with the last; I am he. 5   The coastlands have seen and are afraid;    the ends of the earth tremble;    they have drawn near and come.6   Everyone helps his neighbor    and says to his brother, “Be strong!”7   The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith,    and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil,  saying of the soldering, “It is good”;    and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved. 8   But you, Israel, my servant,    Jacob, whom I have chosen,    the offspring of Abraham, my friend;9   you whom I took from the ends of the earth,    and called from its farthest corners,  saying to you, “You are my servant,    I have chosen you and not cast you off”;10   fear not, for I am with you;    be not dismayed, for I am your God;  I will strengthen you, I will help you,    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 11   Behold, all who are incensed against you    shall be put to shame and confounded;  those who strive against you    shall be as nothing and shall perish.12   You shall seek those who contend with you,    but you shall not find them;  those who war against you    shall be as nothing at all.13   For I, the LORD your God,    hold your right hand;  it is I who say to you, “Fear not,    I am the one who helps you.” 14   Fear not, you worm Jacob,    you men of Israel!  I am the one who helps you, declares the LORD;    your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.15   Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge,    new, sharp, and having teeth;  you shall thresh the mountains and crush them,    and you shall make the hills like chaff;16   you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away,    and the tempest shall scatter them.  And you shall rejoice in the LORD;    in the Holy One of Israel you shall glory. 17   When the poor and needy seek water,    and there is none,    and their tongue is parched with thirst,  I the LORD will answer them;    I the God of Israel will not forsake them.18   I will open rivers on the bare heights,    and fountains in the midst of the valleys.  I will make the wilderness a pool of water,    and the dry land springs of water.19   I will put in the wilderness the cedar,    the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive.  I will set in the desert the cypress,    the plane and the pine together,20   that they may see and know,    may consider and understand together,  that the hand of the LORD has done this,    the Holy One of Israel has created it. The Futility of Idols 21   Set forth your case, says the LORD;    bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.22   Let them bring them, and tell us    what is to happen.  Tell us the former things, what they are,    that we may consider them,  that we may know their outcome;    or declare to us the things to come.23   Tell us what is to come hereafter,    that we may know that you are gods;  do good, or do harm,    that we may be dismayed and terrified.224   Behold, you are nothing,    and your work is less than nothing;    an abomination is he who chooses you. 25   I stirred up one from the north, and he has come,    from the rising of the sun, and he shall call upon my name;  he shall trample on rulers as on mortar,    as the potter treads clay.26   Who declared it from the beginning, that we might know,    and beforehand, that we might say, “He is right”?  There was none who declared it, none who proclaimed,    none who heard your words.27   I was the first to say3 to Zion, “Behold, here they are!”    and I give to Jerusalem a herald of good news.28   But when I look, there is no one;    among these there is no counselor    who, when I ask, gives an answer.29   Behold, they are all a delusion;    their works are nothing;    their metal images are empty wind. Footnotes [1] 41:2 Or whom righteousness calls to follow? [2] 41:23 Or that we may both be dismayed and see [3] 41:27 Or Formerly I said (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 2 Revelation 2 (Listen) To the Church in Ephesus 2 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 “‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name's sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. 6 Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.' To the Church in Smyrna 8 “And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: ‘The words of the first and the last, who died and came to life. 9 “‘I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich) and the slander1 of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. 10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. 11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.' To the Church in Pergamum 12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. 13 “‘I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith2 even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.' To the Church in Thyatira 18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze. 19 “‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you acco

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 131 Psalm 131 (Listen) I Have Calmed and Quieted My Soul A Song of Ascents. Of David. 131   O LORD, my heart is not lifted up;    my eyes are not raised too high;  I do not occupy myself with things    too great and too marvelous for me.2   But I have calmed and quieted my soul,    like a weaned child with its mother;    like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3   O Israel, hope in the LORD    from this time forth and forevermore. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 18 Job 18 (Listen) Bildad Speaks: God Punishes the Wicked 18 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “How long will you hunt for words?    Consider, and then we will speak.3   Why are we counted as cattle?    Why are we stupid in your sight?4   You who tear yourself in your anger,    shall the earth be forsaken for you,    or the rock be removed out of its place? 5   “Indeed, the light of the wicked is put out,    and the flame of his fire does not shine.6   The light is dark in his tent,    and his lamp above him is put out.7   His strong steps are shortened,    and his own schemes throw him down.8   For he is cast into a net by his own feet,    and he walks on its mesh.9   A trap seizes him by the heel;    a snare lays hold of him.10   A rope is hidden for him in the ground,    a trap for him in the path.11   Terrors frighten him on every side,    and chase him at his heels.12   His strength is famished,    and calamity is ready for his stumbling.13   It consumes the parts of his skin;    the firstborn of death consumes his limbs.14   He is torn from the tent in which he trusted    and is brought to the king of terrors.15   In his tent dwells that which is none of his;    sulfur is scattered over his habitation.16   His roots dry up beneath,    and his branches wither above.17   His memory perishes from the earth,    and he has no name in the street.18   He is thrust from light into darkness,    and driven out of the world.19   He has no posterity or progeny among his people,    and no survivor where he used to live.20   They of the west are appalled at his day,    and horror seizes them of the east.21   Surely such are the dwellings of the unrighteous,    such is the place of him who knows not God.” (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 40 Isaiah 40 (Listen) Comfort for God's People 40   Comfort, comfort my people, says your God.2   Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,    and cry to her  that her warfare1 is ended,    that her iniquity is pardoned,  that she has received from the LORD's hand    double for all her sins. 3   A voice cries:2  “In the wilderness prepare the way of the LORD;    make straight in the desert a highway for our God.4   Every valley shall be lifted up,    and every mountain and hill be made low;  the uneven ground shall become level,    and the rough places a plain.5   And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed,    and all flesh shall see it together,    for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” The Word of God Stands Forever 6   A voice says, “Cry!”    And I said,3 “What shall I cry?”  All flesh is grass,    and all its beauty4 is like the flower of the field.7   The grass withers, the flower fades    when the breath of the LORD blows on it;    surely the people are grass.8   The grass withers, the flower fades,    but the word of our God will stand forever. The Greatness of God 9   Go on up to a high mountain,    O Zion, herald of good news;5  lift up your voice with strength,    O Jerusalem, herald of good news;6    lift it up, fear not;  say to the cities of Judah,    “Behold your God!”10   Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,    and his arm rules for him;  behold, his reward is with him,    and his recompense before him.11   He will tend his flock like a shepherd;    he will gather the lambs in his arms;  he will carry them in his bosom,    and gently lead those that are with young. 12   Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand    and marked off the heavens with a span,  enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure    and weighed the mountains in scales    and the hills in a balance?13   Who has measured7 the Spirit of the LORD,    or what man shows him his counsel?14   Whom did he consult,    and who made him understand?  Who taught him the path of justice,    and taught him knowledge,    and showed him the way of understanding?15   Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket,    and are accounted as the dust on the scales;    behold, he takes up the coastlands like fine dust.16   Lebanon would not suffice for fuel,    nor are its beasts enough for a burnt offering.17   All the nations are as nothing before him,    they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness. 18   To whom then will you liken God,    or what likeness compare with him?19   An idol! A craftsman casts it,    and a goldsmith overlays it with gold    and casts for it silver chains.20   He who is too impoverished for an offering    chooses wood8 that will not rot;  he seeks out a skillful craftsman    to set up an idol that will not move. 21   Do you not know? Do you not hear?    Has it not been told you from the beginning?    Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?22   It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,    and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers;  who stretches out the heavens like a curtain,    and spreads them like a tent to dwell in;23   who brings princes to nothing,    and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness. 24   Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown,    scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth,  when he blows on them, and they wither,    and the tempest carries them off like stubble. 25   To whom then will you compare me,    that I should be like him? says the Holy One.26   Lift up your eyes on high and see:    who created these?  He who brings out their host by number,    calling them all by name;  by the greatness of his might    and because he is strong in power,    not one is missing. 27   Why do you say, O Jacob,    and speak, O Israel,  “My way is hidden from the LORD,    and my right is disregarded by my God”?28   Have you not known? Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God,    the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary;    his understanding is unsearchable.29   He gives power to the faint,    and to him who has no might he increases strength.30   Even youths shall faint and be weary,    and young men shall fall exhausted;31   but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;  they shall run and not be weary;    they shall walk and not faint. Footnotes [1] 40:2 Or hardship [2] 40:3 Or A voice of one crying [3] 40:6 Revocalization based on Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Vulgate; Masoretic Text And someone says [4] 40:6 Or all its constancy [5] 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Zion [6] 40:9 Or O herald of good news to Jerusalem [7] 40:13 Or has directed [8] 40:20 Or He chooses valuable wood (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Revelation 1 Revelation 1 (Listen) Prologue 1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants1 the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. Greeting to the Seven Churches 4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail2 on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Vision of the Son of Man 9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Footnotes [1] 1:1 for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for servant later in this verse [2] 1:7 Or mourn (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 130 Psalm 130 (Listen) My Soul Waits for the Lord A Song of Ascents. 130   Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!2     O Lord, hear my voice!  Let your ears be attentive    to the voice of my pleas for mercy! 3   If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,    O Lord, who could stand?4   But with you there is forgiveness,    that you may be feared. 5   I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,    and in his word I hope;6   my soul waits for the Lord    more than watchmen for the morning,    more than watchmen for the morning. 7   O Israel, hope in the LORD!    For with the LORD there is steadfast love,    and with him is plentiful redemption.8   And he will redeem Israel    from all his iniquities. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 16–17 Job 16–17 (Listen) Job Replies: Miserable Comforters Are You 16 Then Job answered and said: 2   “I have heard many such things;    miserable comforters are you all.3   Shall windy words have an end?    Or what provokes you that you answer?4   I also could speak as you do,    if you were in my place;  I could join words together against you    and shake my head at you.5   I could strengthen you with my mouth,    and the solace of my lips would assuage your pain. 6   “If I speak, my pain is not assuaged,    and if I forbear, how much of it leaves me?7   Surely now God has worn me out;    he has1 made desolate all my company.8   And he has shriveled me up,    which is a witness against me,  and my leanness has risen up against me;    it testifies to my face.9   He has torn me in his wrath and hated me;    he has gnashed his teeth at me;    my adversary sharpens his eyes against me.10   Men have gaped at me with their mouth;    they have struck me insolently on the cheek;    they mass themselves together against me.11   God gives me up to the ungodly    and casts me into the hands of the wicked.12   I was at ease, and he broke me apart;    he seized me by the neck and dashed me to pieces;  he set me up as his target;13     his archers surround me.  He slashes open my kidneys and does not spare;    he pours out my gall on the ground.14   He breaks me with breach upon breach;    he runs upon me like a warrior.15   I have sewed sackcloth upon my skin    and have laid my strength in the dust.16   My face is red with weeping,    and on my eyelids is deep darkness,17   although there is no violence in my hands,    and my prayer is pure. 18   “O earth, cover not my blood,    and let my cry find no resting place.19   Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven,    and he who testifies for me is on high.20   My friends scorn me;    my eye pours out tears to God,21   that he would argue the case of a man with God,    as2 a son of man does with his neighbor.22   For when a few years have come    I shall go the way from which I shall not return. Job Continues: Where Then Is My Hope? 17   “My spirit is broken; my days are extinct;    the graveyard is ready for me.2   Surely there are mockers about me,    and my eye dwells on their provocation. 3   “Lay down a pledge for me with you;    who is there who will put up security for me?4   Since you have closed their hearts to understanding,    therefore you will not let them triumph.5   He who informs against his friends to get a share of their property—    the eyes of his children will fail. 6   “He has made me a byword of the peoples,    and I am one before whom men spit.7   My eye has grown dim from vexation,    and all my members are like a shadow.8   The upright are appalled at this,    and the innocent stirs himself up against the godless.9   Yet the righteous holds to his way,    and he who has clean hands grows stronger and stronger.10   But you, come on again, all of you,    and I shall not find a wise man among you.11   My days are past; my plans are broken off,    the desires of my heart.12   They make night into day:    ‘The light,' they say, ‘is near to the darkness.'313   If I hope for Sheol as my house,    if I make my bed in darkness,14   if I say to the pit, ‘You are my father,'    and to the worm, ‘My mother,' or ‘My sister,'15   where then is my hope?    Who will see my hope?16   Will it go down to the bars of Sheol?    Shall we descend together into the dust?”4 Footnotes [1] 16:7 Hebrew you have; also verse 8 [2] 16:21 Hebrew and [3] 17:12 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [4] 17:16 Or Will they go down to the bars of Sheol? Is rest to be found together in the dust? (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 39 Isaiah 39 (Listen) Envoys from Babylon 39 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that he had been sick and had recovered. 2 And Hezekiah welcomed them gladly. And he showed them his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his whole armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 3 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” Hezekiah said, “They have come to me from a far country, from Babylon.” 4 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house. There is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.” 5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of hosts: 6 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. 7 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 8 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “There will be peace and security in my days.” (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: Jude Jude (Listen) Greeting 1 Jude, a servant1 of Jesus Christ and brother of James, To those who are called, beloved in God the Father and kept for2 Jesus Christ: 2 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. Judgment on False Teachers 3 Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. 4 For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. 5 Now I want to remind you, although you once fully knew it, that Jesus, who saved3 a people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—7 just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire,4 serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in like manner these people also, relying on their dreams, defile the flesh, reject authority, and blaspheme the glorious ones. 9 But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” 10 But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. 11 Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. 12 These are hidden reefs5 at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. 14 It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, 15 to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” 16 These are grumblers, malcontents, following their own sinful desires; they are loud-mouthed boasters, showing favoritism to gain advantage. A Call to Persevere 17 But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. 18 They6 said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” 19 It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. 20 But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, 21 keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. 22 And have mercy on those who doubt; 23 save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment7 stained by the flesh. Doxology 24 Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, 25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time8 and now and forever. Amen. Footnotes [1] 1:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface [2] 1:1 Or by [3] 1:5 Some manuscripts although you fully knew it, that the Lord who once saved [4] 1:7 Greek different flesh [5] 1:12 Or are blemishes [6] 1:18 Or Christ, because they [7] 1:23 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin [8] 1:25 Or before any age (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 129 Psalm 129 (Listen) They Have Afflicted Me from My Youth A Song of Ascents. 129   “Greatly1 have they afflicted me from my youth”—    let Israel now say—2   “Greatly have they afflicted me from my youth,    yet they have not prevailed against me.3   The plowers plowed upon my back;    they made long their furrows.”4   The LORD is righteous;    he has cut the cords of the wicked.5   May all who hate Zion    be put to shame and turned backward!6   Let them be like the grass on the housetops,    which withers before it grows up,7   with which the reaper does not fill his hand    nor the binder of sheaves his arms,8   nor do those who pass by say,    “The blessing of the LORD be upon you!    We bless you in the name of the LORD!” Footnotes [1] 129:1 Or Often; also verse 2 (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 15 Job 15 (Listen) Eliphaz Accuses: Job Does Not Fear God 15 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2   “Should a wise man answer with windy knowledge,    and fill his belly with the east wind?3   Should he argue in unprofitable talk,    or in words with which he can do no good?4   But you are doing away with the fear of God1    and hindering meditation before God.5   For your iniquity teaches your mouth,    and you choose the tongue of the crafty.6   Your own mouth condemns you, and not I;    your own lips testify against you. 7   “Are you the first man who was born?    Or were you brought forth before the hills?8   Have you listened in the council of God?    And do you limit wisdom to yourself?9   What do you know that we do not know?    What do you understand that is not clear to us?10   Both the gray-haired and the aged are among us,    older than your father.11   Are the comforts of God too small for you,    or the word that deals gently with you?12   Why does your heart carry you away,    and why do your eyes flash,13   that you turn your spirit against God    and bring such words out of your mouth?14   What is man, that he can be pure?    Or he who is born of a woman, that he can be righteous?15   Behold, God2 puts no trust in his holy ones,    and the heavens are not pure in his sight;16   how much less one who is abominable and corrupt,    a man who drinks injustice like water! 17   “I will show you; hear me,    and what I have seen I will declare18   (what wise men have told,    without hiding it from their fathers,19   to whom alone the land was given,    and no stranger passed among them).20   The wicked man writhes in pain all his days,    through all the years that are laid up for the ruthless.21   Dreadful sounds are in his ears;    in prosperity the destroyer will come upon him.22   He does not believe that he will return out of darkness,    and he is marked for the sword.23   He wanders abroad for bread, saying, ‘Where is it?'    He knows that a day of darkness is ready at his hand;24   distress and anguish terrify him;    they prevail against him, like a king ready for battle.25   Because he has stretched out his hand against God    and defies the Almighty,26   running stubbornly against him    with a thickly bossed shield;27   because he has covered his face with his fat    and gathered fat upon his waist28   and has lived in desolate cities,    in houses that none should inhabit,    which were ready to become heaps of ruins;29   he will not be rich, and his wealth will not endure,    nor will his possessions spread over the earth;330   he will not depart from darkness;    the flame will dry up his shoots,    and by the breath of his mouth he will depart.31   Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself,    for emptiness will be his payment.32   It will be paid in full before his time,    and his branch will not be green.33   He will shake off his unripe grape like the vine,    and cast off his blossom like the olive tree.34   For the company of the godless is barren,    and fire consumes the tents of bribery.35   They conceive trouble and give birth to evil,    and their womb prepares deceit.” Footnotes [1] 15:4 Hebrew lacks of God [2] 15:15 Hebrew he [3] 15:29 Or nor will his produce bend down to the earth (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 38 Isaiah 38 (Listen) Hezekiah's Sickness and Recovery 38 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.”1 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 Then the word of the LORD came to Isaiah: 5 “Go and say to Hezekiah, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.2 6 I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and will defend this city. 7 “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do this thing that he has promised: 8 Behold, I will make the shadow cast by the declining sun on the dial of Ahaz turn back ten steps.” So the sun turned back on the dial the ten steps by which it had declined.3 9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: 10   I said, In the middle4 of my days    I must depart;  I am consigned to the gates of Sheol    for the rest of my years.11   I said, I shall not see the LORD,    the LORD in the land of the living;  I shall look on man no more    among the inhabitants of the world.12   My dwelling is plucked up and removed from me    like a shepherd's tent;  like a weaver I have rolled up my life;    he cuts me off from the loom;  from day to night you bring me to an end;13     I calmed myself5 until morning;  like a lion he breaks all my bones;    from day to night you bring me to an end. 14   Like a swallow or a crane I chirp;    I moan like a dove.  My eyes are weary with looking upward.    O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!15   What shall I say? For he has spoken to me,    and he himself has done it.  I walk slowly all my years    because of the bitterness of my soul. 16   O Lord, by these things men live,    and in all these is the life of my spirit.    Oh restore me to health and make me live!17   Behold, it was for my welfare    that I had great bitterness;  but in love you have delivered my life    from the pit of destruction,  for you have cast all my sins    behind your back.18   For Sheol does not thank you;    death does not praise you;  those who go down to the pit do not hope    for your faithfulness.19   The living, the living, he thanks you,    as I do this day;  the father makes known to the children    your faithfulness. 20   The LORD will save me,    and we will play my music on stringed instruments  all the days of our lives,    at the house of the LORD. 21 Now Isaiah had said, “Let them take a cake of figs and apply it to the boil, that he may recover.” 22 Hezekiah also had said, “What is the sign that I shall go up to the house of the LORD?” Footnotes [1] 38:1 Or live; also verses 9, 21 [2] 38:5 Hebrew to your days [3] 38:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [4] 38:10 Or In the quiet [5] 38:13 Or (with Targum) I cried for help (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 3 John 3 John (Listen) Greeting 1 The elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. 2 Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers1 came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Support and Opposition 5 Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, 6 who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. 7 For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth. 9 I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. 10 So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. 11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius has received a good testimony from everyone, and from the truth itself. We also add our testimony, and you know that our testimony is true. Final Greetings 13 I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. 14 I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. 15 Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends, each by name. Footnotes [1] 1:3 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 10 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 128 Psalm 128 (Listen) Blessed Is Everyone Who Fears the Lord A Song of Ascents. 128   Blessed is everyone who fears the LORD,    who walks in his ways!2   You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;    you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you. 3   Your wife will be like a fruitful vine    within your house;  your children will be like olive shoots    around your table.4   Behold, thus shall the man be blessed    who fears the LORD. 5   The LORD bless you from Zion!    May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem    all the days of your life!6   May you see your children's children!    Peace be upon Israel! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 14 Job 14 (Listen) Job Continues: Death Comes Soon to All 14   “Man who is born of a woman    is few of days and full of trouble.2   He comes out like a flower and withers;    he flees like a shadow and continues not.3   And do you open your eyes on such a one    and bring me into judgment with you?4   Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?    There is not one.5   Since his days are determined,    and the number of his months is with you,    and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,6   look away from him and leave him alone,1    that he may enjoy, like a hired hand, his day. 7   “For there is hope for a tree,    if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,    and that its shoots will not cease.8   Though its root grow old in the earth,    and its stump die in the soil,9   yet at the scent of water it will bud    and put out branches like a young plant.10   But a man dies and is laid low;    man breathes his last, and where is he?11   As waters fail from a lake    and a river wastes away and dries up,12   so a man lies down and rises not again;    till the heavens are no more he will not awake    or be roused out of his sleep.13   Oh that you would hide me in Sheol,    that you would conceal me until your wrath be past,    that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!14   If a man dies, shall he live again?    All the days of my service I would wait,    till my renewal2 should come.15   You would call, and I would answer you;    you would long for the work of your hands.16   For then you would number my steps;    you would not keep watch over my sin;17   my transgression would be sealed up in a bag,    and you would cover over my iniquity. 18   “But the mountain falls and crumbles away,    and the rock is removed from its place;19   the waters wear away the stones;    the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;    so you destroy the hope of man.20   You prevail forever against him, and he passes;    you change his countenance, and send him away.21   His sons come to honor, and he does not know it;    they are brought low, and he perceives it not.22   He feels only the pain of his own body,    and he mourns only for himself.” Footnotes [1] 14:6 Probable reading; Hebrew look away from him, that he may cease [2] 14:14 Or relief (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 36–37 Isaiah 36–37 (Listen) Sennacherib Invades Judah 36 In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and took them. 2 And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh1 from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem, with a great army. And he stood by the conduit of the upper pool on the highway to the Washer's Field. 3 And there came out to him Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder. 4 And the Rabshakeh said to them, “Say to Hezekiah, ‘Thus says the great king, the king of Assyria: On what do you rest this trust of yours? 5 Do you think that mere words are strategy and power for war? In whom do you now trust, that you have rebelled against me? 6 Behold, you are trusting in Egypt, that broken reed of a staff, which will pierce the hand of any man who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him. 7 But if you say to me, “We trust in the LORD our God,” is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, “You shall worship before this altar”? 8 Come now, make a wager with my master the king of Assyria: I will give you two thousand horses, if you are able on your part to set riders on them. 9 How then can you repulse a single captain among the least of my master's servants, when you trust in Egypt for chariots and for horsemen? 10 Moreover, is it without the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD said to me, “Go up against this land and destroy it.”'” 11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall.” 12 But the Rabshakeh said, “Has my master sent me to speak these words to your master and to you, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are doomed with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?” 13 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out in a loud voice in the language of Judah: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria! 14 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he will not be able to deliver you. 15 Do not let Hezekiah make you trust in the LORD by saying, “The LORD will surely deliver us. This city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” 16 Do not listen to Hezekiah. For thus says the king of Assyria: Make your peace with me2 and come out to me. Then each one of you will eat of his own vine, and each one of his own fig tree, and each one of you will drink the water of his own cistern, 17 until I come and take you away to a land like your own land, a land of grain and wine, a land of bread and vineyards. 18 Beware lest Hezekiah mislead you by saying, “The LORD will deliver us.” Has any of the gods of the nations delivered his land out of the hand of the king of Assyria? 19 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria out of my hand? 20 Who among all the gods of these lands have delivered their lands out of my hand, that the LORD should deliver Jerusalem out of my hand?'” 21 But they were silent and answered him not a word, for the king's command was, “Do not answer him.” 22 Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of the Rabshakeh. Hezekiah Seeks Isaiah's Help 37 As soon as King Hezekiah heard it, he tore his clothes and covered himself with sackcloth and went into the house of the LORD. 2 And he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, covered with sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz. 3 They said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah, ‘This day is a day of distress, of rebuke, and of disgrace; children have come to the point of birth, and there is no strength to bring them forth. 4 It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to mock the living God, and will rebuke the words that the LORD your God has heard; therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.'” 5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the LORD: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the young men of the king of Assyria have reviled me. 7 Behold, I will put a spirit in him, so that he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land, and I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.'” 8 The Rabshakeh returned, and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah, for he had heard that the king had left Lachish. 9 Now the king heard concerning Tirhakah king of Cush,3 “He has set out to fight against you.” And when he heard it, he sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying, 10 “Thus shall you speak to Hezekiah king of Judah: ‘Do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you by promising that Jerusalem will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria. 11 Behold, you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all lands, devoting them to destruction. And shall you be delivered? 12 Have the gods of the nations delivered them, the nations that my fathers destroyed, Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who were in Telassar? 13 Where is the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, or the king of Ivvah?'” Hezekiah's Prayer for Deliverance 14 Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the LORD, and spread it before the LORD. 15 And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD: 16 “O LORD of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth. 17 Incline your ear, O LORD, and hear; open your eyes, O LORD, and see; and hear all the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 18 Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all the nations and their lands, 19 and have cast their gods into the fire. For they were no gods, but the work of men's hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 20 So now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone are the LORD.” Sennacherib's Fall 21 Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, 22 this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him:   “‘She despises you, she scorns you—    the virgin daughter of Zion;  she wags her head behind you—    the daughter of Jerusalem. 23   “‘Whom have you mocked and reviled?    Against whom have you raised your voice  and lifted your eyes to the heights?    Against the Holy One of Israel!24   By your servants you have mocked the Lord,    and you have said, With my many chariots  I have gone up the heights of the mountains,    to the far recesses of Lebanon,  to cut down its tallest cedars,    its choicest cypresses,  to come to its remotest height,    its most fruitful forest.25   I dug wells    and drank waters,  to dry up with the sole of my foot    all the streams of Egypt. 26   “‘Have you not heard    that I determined it long ago?  I planned from days of old    what now I bring to pass,  that you should make fortified cities    crash into heaps of ruins,27   while their inhabitants, shorn of strength,    are dismayed and confounded,  and have become like plants of the field    and like tender grass,  like grass on the housetops,    blighted4 before it is grown. 28   “‘I know your sitting down    and your going out and coming in,    and your raging against me.29   Because you have raged against me    and your complacency has come to my ears,  I will put my hook in your nose    and my bit in your mouth,  and I will turn you back on the way    by which you came.' 30 “And this shall be the sign for you: this year you shall eat what grows of itself, and in the second year what springs from that. Then in the third year sow and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit. 31 And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah shall again take root downward and bear fruit upward. 32 For out of Jerusalem shall go a remnant, and out of Mount Zion a band of survivors. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. 33 “Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: He shall not come into this city or shoot an arrow there or come before it with a shield or cast up a siege mound against it. 34 By the way that he came, by the same he shall return, and he shall not come into this city, declares the LORD. 35 For I will defend this city to save it, for my own sake and for the sake of my servant David.” 36 And the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 37 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and returned home and lived at Nineveh. 38 And as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, Adrammelech and Sharezer, his sons, struck him down with the sword. And after they escaped into the land of Ararat, Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place. Footnotes [1] 36:2 Rabshakeh is the title of a high-ranking Assyrian military officer [2] 36:16 Hebrew Make a blessing with me [3] 37:9 Probably Nubia [4] 37:27 Some Hebrew manuscripts and 2 Kings 19:26; most Hebrew manuscripts a field (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 2 John 2 John (Listen) Greeting 1 The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all who know the truth, 2 because of the truth that abides in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy, and peace will be with us, from God the Father and from Jesus Christ the Father's Son, in truth and love. Walking in Truth and Love 4 I rejoiced greatly to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as we were commanded by the Father. 5 And now I ask you, dear lady—not as though I were writing you a new commandment, but the one we have had from the beginning—that we love one another. 6 And this is love, that we walk according to his commandments; this is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch yourselves, so that you may not lose what we1 have worked for, but may win a full reward. 9 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting, 11 for whoever greets him takes part in his wicked works. Final Greetings 12 Though I have much to write to you, I would rather not use paper and ink. Instead I hope to come to you and talk face to face, so that our joy may be complete. 13 The children of your elect sister greet you. Footnotes [1] 1:8 Some manuscripts you (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 127 Psalm 127 (Listen) Unless the Lord Builds the House A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon. 127   Unless the LORD builds the house,    those who build it labor in vain.  Unless the LORD watches over the city,    the watchman stays awake in vain.2   It is in vain that you rise up early    and go late to rest,  eating the bread of anxious toil;    for he gives to his beloved sleep. 3   Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,    the fruit of the womb a reward.4   Like arrows in the hand of a warrior    are the children1 of one's youth.5   Blessed is the man    who fills his quiver with them!  He shall not be put to shame    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.2 Footnotes [1] 127:4 Or sons [2] 127:5 Or They shall not be put to shame when they speak with their enemies in the gate (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 13 Job 13 (Listen) Job Continues: Still I Will Hope in God 13   “Behold, my eye has seen all this,    my ear has heard and understood it.2   What you know, I also know;    I am not inferior to you.3   But I would speak to the Almighty,    and I desire to argue my case with God.4   As for you, you whitewash with lies;    worthless physicians are you all.5   Oh that you would keep silent,    and it would be your wisdom!6   Hear now my argument    and listen to the pleadings of my lips.7   Will you speak falsely for God    and speak deceitfully for him?8   Will you show partiality toward him?    Will you plead the case for God?9   Will it be well with you when he searches you out?    Or can you deceive him, as one deceives a man?10   He will surely rebuke you    if in secret you show partiality.11   Will not his majesty terrify you,    and the dread of him fall upon you?12   Your maxims are proverbs of ashes;    your defenses are defenses of clay. 13   “Let me have silence, and I will speak,    and let come on me what may.14   Why should I take my flesh in my teeth    and put my life in my hand?15   Though he slay me, I will hope in him;1    yet I will argue my ways to his face.16   This will be my salvation,    that the godless shall not come before him.17   Keep listening to my words,    and let my declaration be in your ears.18   Behold, I have prepared my case;    I know that I shall be in the right.19   Who is there who will contend with me?    For then I would be silent and die.20   Only grant me two things,    then I will not hide myself from your face:21   withdraw your hand far from me,    and let not dread of you terrify me.22   Then call, and I will answer;    or let me speak, and you reply to me.23   How many are my iniquities and my sins?    Make me know my transgression and my sin.24   Why do you hide your face    and count me as your enemy?25   Will you frighten a driven leaf    and pursue dry chaff?26   For you write bitter things against me    and make me inherit the iniquities of my youth.27   You put my feet in the stocks    and watch all my paths;    you set a limit for2 the soles of my feet.28   Man3 wastes away like a rotten thing,    like a garment that is moth-eaten. Footnotes [1] 13:15 Or Behold, he will slay me; I have no hope [2] 13:27 Or you marked [3] 13:28 Hebrew He (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 35 Isaiah 35 (Listen) The Ransomed Shall Return 35   The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad;    the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus;2   it shall blossom abundantly    and rejoice with joy and singing.  The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.  They shall see the glory of the LORD,    the majesty of our God. 3   Strengthen the weak hands,    and make firm the feeble knees.4   Say to those who have an anxious heart,    “Be strong; fear not!  Behold, your God    will come with vengeance,  with the recompense of God.    He will come and save you.” 5   Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;6   then shall the lame man leap like a deer,    and the tongue of the mute sing for joy.  For waters break forth in the wilderness,    and streams in the desert;7   the burning sand shall become a pool,    and the thirsty ground springs of water;  in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down,    the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8   And a highway shall be there,    and it shall be called the Way of Holiness;  the unclean shall not pass over it.    It shall belong to those who walk on the way;    even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.19   No lion shall be there,    nor shall any ravenous beast come up on it;  they shall not be found there,    but the redeemed shall walk there.10   And the ransomed of the LORD shall return    and come to Zion with singing;  everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;    they shall obtain gladness and joy,    and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Footnotes [1] 35:8 Or if they are fools, they shall not wander in it (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 1 John 5 1 John 5 (Listen) Overcoming the World 5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Testimony Concerning the Son of God 6 This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the Spirit and the water and the blood; and these three agree. 9 If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. That You May Know 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 16 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God1 will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 18 We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him. 19 We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. 21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Footnotes [1] 5:16 Greek he (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 126 Psalm 126 (Listen) Restore Our Fortunes, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 126   When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,    we were like those who dream.2   Then our mouth was filled with laughter,    and our tongue with shouts of joy;  then they said among the nations,    “The LORD has done great things for them.”3   The LORD has done great things for us;    we are glad. 4   Restore our fortunes, O LORD,    like streams in the Negeb!5   Those who sow in tears    shall reap with shouts of joy!6   He who goes out weeping,    bearing the seed for sowing,  shall come home with shouts of joy,    bringing his sheaves with him. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 12 Job 12 (Listen) Job Replies: The Lord Has Done This 12 Then Job answered and said: 2   “No doubt you are the people,    and wisdom will die with you.3   But I have understanding as well as you;    I am not inferior to you.    Who does not know such things as these?4   I am a laughingstock to my friends;    I, who called to God and he answered me,    a just and blameless man, am a laughingstock.5   In the thought of one who is at ease there is contempt for misfortune;    it is ready for those whose feet slip.6   The tents of robbers are at peace,    and those who provoke God are secure,    who bring their god in their hand.1 7   “But ask the beasts, and they will teach you;    the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you;8   or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you;2    and the fish of the sea will declare to you.9   Who among all these does not know    that the hand of the LORD has done this?10   In his hand is the life of every living thing    and the breath of all mankind.11   Does not the ear test words    as the palate tastes food?12   Wisdom is with the aged,    and understanding in length of days. 13   “With God3 are wisdom and might;    he has counsel and understanding.14   If he tears down, none can rebuild;    if he shuts a man in, none can open.15   If he withholds the waters, they dry up;    if he sends them out, they overwhelm the land.16   With him are strength and sound wisdom;    the deceived and the deceiver are his.17   He leads counselors away stripped,    and judges he makes fools.18   He looses the bonds of kings    and binds a waistcloth on their hips.19   He leads priests away stripped    and overthrows the mighty.20   He deprives of speech those who are trusted    and takes away the discernment of the elders.21   He pours contempt on princes    and loosens the belt of the strong.22   He uncovers the deeps out of darkness    and brings deep darkness to light.23   He makes nations great, and he destroys them;    he enlarges nations, and leads them away.24   He takes away understanding from the chiefs of the people of the earth    and makes them wander in a trackless waste.25   They grope in the dark without light,    and he makes them stagger like a drunken man. Footnotes [1] 12:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [2] 12:8 Or or speak to the earth, and it will teach you [3] 12:13 Hebrew him (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 33–34 Isaiah 33–34 (Listen) O Lord, Be Gracious to Us 33   Ah, you destroyer,    who yourself have not been destroyed,  you traitor,    whom none has betrayed!  When you have ceased to destroy,    you will be destroyed;  and when you have finished betraying,    they will betray you. 2   O LORD, be gracious to us; we wait for you.    Be our arm every morning,    our salvation in the time of trouble.3   At the tumultuous noise peoples flee;    when you lift yourself up, nations are scattered,4   and your spoil is gathered as the caterpillar gathers;    as locusts leap, it is leapt upon. 5   The LORD is exalted, for he dwells on high;    he will fill Zion with justice and righteousness,6   and he will be the stability of your times,    abundance of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge;    the fear of the LORD is Zion's1 treasure. 7   Behold, their heroes cry in the streets;    the envoys of peace weep bitterly.8   The highways lie waste;    the traveler ceases.  Covenants are broken;    cities2 are despised;    there is no regard for man.9   The land mourns and languishes;    Lebanon is confounded and withers away;  Sharon is like a desert,    and Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves. 10   “Now I will arise,” says the LORD,    “now I will lift myself up;    now I will be exalted.11   You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble;    your breath is a fire that will consume you.12   And the peoples will be as if burned to lime,    like thorns cut down, that are burned in the fire.” 13   Hear, you who are far off, what I have done;    and you who are near, acknowledge my might.14   The sinners in Zion are afraid;    trembling has seized the godless:  “Who among us can dwell with the consuming fire?    Who among us can dwell with everlasting burnings?”15   He who walks righteously and speaks uprightly,    who despises the gain of oppressions,  who shakes his hands, lest they hold a bribe,    who stops his ears from hearing of bloodshed    and shuts his eyes from looking on evil,16   he will dwell on the heights;    his place of defense will be the fortresses of rocks;    his bread will be given him; his water will be sure. 17   Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty;    they will see a land that stretches afar.18   Your heart will muse on the terror:    “Where is he who counted, where is he who weighed the tribute?    Where is he who counted the towers?”19   You will see no more the insolent people,    the people of an obscure speech that you cannot comprehend,    stammering in a tongue that you cannot understand.20   Behold Zion, the city of our appointed feasts!    Your eyes will see Jerusalem,    an untroubled habitation, an immovable tent,  whose stakes will never be plucked up,    nor will any of its cords be broken.21   But there the LORD in majesty will be for us    a place of broad rivers and streams,  where no galley with oars can go,    nor majestic ship can pass.22   For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver;    the LORD is our king; he will save us. 23   Your cords hang loose;    they cannot hold the mast firm in its place    or keep the sail spread out.  Then prey and spoil in abundance will be divided;    even the lame will take the prey.24   And no inhabitant will say, “I am sick”;    the people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity. Judgment on the Nations 34   Draw near, O nations, to hear,    and give attention, O peoples!  Let the earth hear, and all that fills it;    the world, and all that comes from it.2   For the LORD is enraged against all the nations,    and furious against all their host;    he has devoted them to destruction,3 has given them over for slaughter.3   Their slain shall be cast out,    and the stench of their corpses shall rise;    the mountains shall flow with their blood.4   All the host of heaven shall rot away,    and the skies roll up like a scroll.  All their host shall fall,    as leaves fall from the vine,    like leaves falling from the fig tree. 5   For my sword has drunk its fill in the heavens;    behold, it descends for judgment upon Edom,    upon the people I have devoted to destruction.6   The LORD has a sword; it is sated with blood;    it is gorged with fat,    with the blood of lambs and goats,    with the fat of the kidneys of rams.  For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,    a great slaughter in the land of Edom.7   Wild oxen shall fall with them,    and young steers with the mighty bulls.  Their land shall drink its fill of blood,    and their soil shall be gorged with fat. 8   For the LORD has a day of vengeance,    a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.9   And the streams of Edom4 shall be turned into pitch,    and her soil into sulfur;    her land shall become burning pitch.10   Night and day it shall not be quenched;    its smoke shall go up forever.  From generation to generation it shall lie waste;    none shall pass through it forever and ever.11   But the hawk and the porcupine5 shall possess it,    the owl and the raven shall dwell in it.  He shall stretch the line of confusion6 over it,    and the plumb line of emptiness.12   Its nobles—there is no one there to call it a kingdom,    and all its princes shall be nothing. 13   Thorns shall grow over its strongholds,    nettles and thistles in its fortresses.  It shall be the haunt of jackals,    an abode for ostriches.714   And wild animals shall meet with hyenas;    the wild goat shall cry to his fellow;  indeed, there the night bird8 settles    and finds for herself a resting place. 15   There the owl nests and lays    and hatches and gathers her young in her shadow;  indeed, there the hawks are gathered,    each one with her mate.16   Seek and read from the book of the LORD:    Not one of these shall be missing;    none shall be without her mate.  For the mouth of the LORD has commanded,    and his Spirit has gathered them.17   He has cast the lot for them;    his hand has portioned it out to them with the line;  they shall possess it forever;    from generation to generation they shall dwell in it. Footnotes [1] 33:6 Hebrew his [2] 33:8 Masoretic Text; Dead Sea Scroll witnesses [3] 34:2 That is, set apart (devoted) as an offering to the Lord (for destruction); also verse 5 [4] 34:9 Hebrew her streams [5] 34:11 The identity of the animals rendered hawk and porcupine is uncertain [6] 34:11 Hebrew formlessness [7] 34:13 Or owls [8] 34:14 Identity uncertain (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 1 John 4 1 John 4 (Listen) Test the Spirits 4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error. God Is Love 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot1 love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. Footnotes [1] 4:20 Some manuscripts how can he (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 125 Psalm 125 (Listen) The Lord Surrounds His People A Song of Ascents. 125   Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,    which cannot be moved, but abides forever.2   As the mountains surround Jerusalem,    so the LORD surrounds his people,    from this time forth and forevermore.3   For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest    on the land allotted to the righteous,  lest the righteous stretch out    their hands to do wrong.4   Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,    and to those who are upright in their hearts!5   But those who turn aside to their crooked ways    the LORD will lead away with evildoers!    Peace be upon Israel! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 11 Job 11 (Listen) Zophar Speaks: You Deserve Worse 11 Then Zophar the Naamathite answered and said: 2   “Should a multitude of words go unanswered,    and a man full of talk be judged right?3   Should your babble silence men,    and when you mock, shall no one shame you?4   For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure,    and I am clean in God's1 eyes.'5   But oh, that God would speak    and open his lips to you,6   and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!    For he is manifold in understanding.2  Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves. 7   “Can you find out the deep things of God?    Can you find out the limit of the Almighty?8   It is higher than heaven3—what can you do?    Deeper than Sheol—what can you know?9   Its measure is longer than the earth    and broader than the sea.10   If he passes through and imprisons    and summons the court, who can turn him back?11   For he knows worthless men;    when he sees iniquity, will he not consider it?12   But a stupid man will get understanding    when a wild donkey's colt is born a man! 13   “If you prepare your heart,    you will stretch out your hands toward him.14   If iniquity is in your hand, put it far away,    and let not injustice dwell in your tents.15   Surely then you will lift up your face without blemish;    you will be secure and will not fear.16   You will forget your misery;    you will remember it as waters that have passed away.17   And your life will be brighter than the noonday;    its darkness will be like the morning.18   And you will feel secure, because there is hope;    you will look around and take your rest in security.19   You will lie down, and none will make you afraid;    many will court your favor.20   But the eyes of the wicked will fail;    all way of escape will be lost to them,    and their hope is to breathe their last.” Footnotes [1] 11:4 Hebrew your [2] 11:6 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 11:8 Hebrew The heights of heaven (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 30:18–32:20 Isaiah 30:18–32:20 (Listen) The Lord Will Be Gracious 18   Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,    and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.  For the LORD is a God of justice;    blessed are all those who wait for him. 19 For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 20 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 21 And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 22 Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!” 23 And he will give rain for the seed with which you sow the ground, and bread, the produce of the ground, which will be rich and plenteous. In that day your livestock will graze in large pastures, 24 and the oxen and the donkeys that work the ground will eat seasoned fodder, which has been winnowed with shovel and fork. 25 And on every lofty mountain and every high hill there will be brooks running with water, in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall. 26 Moreover, the light of the moon will be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when the LORD binds up the brokenness of his people, and heals the wounds inflicted by his blow. 27   Behold, the name of the LORD comes from afar,    burning with his anger, and in thick rising smoke;1  his lips are full of fury,    and his tongue is like a devouring fire;28   his breath is like an overflowing stream    that reaches up to the neck;  to sift the nations with the sieve of destruction,    and to place on the jaws of the peoples a bridle that leads astray. 29 You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. 30 And the LORD will cause his majestic voice to be heard and the descending blow of his arm to be seen, in furious anger and a flame of devouring fire, with a cloudburst and storm and hailstones. 31 The Assyrians will be terror-stricken at the voice of the LORD, when he strikes with his rod. 32 And every stroke of the appointed staff that the LORD lays on them will be to the sound of tambourines and lyres. Battling with brandished arm, he will fight with them. 33 For a burning place2 has long been prepared; indeed, for the king it is made ready, its pyre made deep and wide, with fire and wood in abundance; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of sulfur, kindles it. Woe to Those Who Go Down to Egypt 31   Woe3 to those who go down to Egypt for help    and rely on horses,  who trust in chariots because they are many    and in horsemen because they are very strong,  but do not look to the Holy One of Israel    or consult the LORD!2   And yet he is wise and brings disaster;    he does not call back his words,  but will arise against the house of the evildoers    and against the helpers of those who work iniquity.3   The Egyptians are man, and not God,    and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.  When the LORD stretches out his hand,    the helper will stumble, and he who is helped will fall,    and they will all perish together. 4   For thus the LORD said to me,  “As a lion or a young lion growls over his prey,    and when a band of shepherds is called out against him  he is not terrified by their shouting    or daunted at their noise,  so the LORD of hosts will come down    to fight4 on Mount Zion and on its hill.5   Like birds hovering, so the LORD of hosts    will protect Jerusalem;  he will protect and deliver it;    he will spare and rescue it.” 6 Turn to him from whom people5 have deeply revolted, O children of Israel. 7 For in that day everyone shall cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which your hands have sinfully made for you. 8   “And the Assyrian shall fall by a sword, not of man;    and a sword, not of man, shall devour him;  and he shall flee from the sword,    and his young men shall be put to forced labor.9   His rock shall pass away in terror,    and his officers desert the standard in panic,”  declares the LORD, whose fire is in Zion,    and whose furnace is in Jerusalem. A King Will Reign in Righteousness 32   Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,    and princes will rule in justice.2   Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,    a shelter from the storm,  like streams of water in a dry place,    like the shade of a great rock in a weary land.3   Then the eyes of those who see will not be closed,    and the ears of those who hear will give attention.4   The heart of the hasty will understand and know,    and the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak distinctly.5   The fool will no more be called noble,    nor the scoundrel said to be honorable.6   For the fool speaks folly,    and his heart is busy with iniquity,  to practice ungodliness,    to utter error concerning the LORD,  to leave the craving of the hungry unsatisfied,    and to deprive the thirsty of drink.7   As for the scoundrel—his devices are evil;    he plans wicked schemes  to ruin the poor with lying words,    even when the plea of the needy is right.8   But he who is noble plans noble things,    and on noble things he stands. Complacent Women Warned of Disaster 9   Rise up, you women who are at ease, hear my voice;    you complacent daughters, give ear to my speech.10   In little more than a year    you will shudder, you complacent women;  for the grape harvest fails,    the fruit harvest will not come.11   Tremble, you women who are at ease,    shudder, you complacent ones;  strip, and make yourselves bare,    and tie sackcloth around your waist.12   Beat your breasts for the pleasant fields,    for the fruitful vine,13   for the soil of my people    growing up in thorns and briers,  yes, for all the joyous houses    in the exultant city.14   For the palace is forsaken,    the populous city deserted;  the hill and the watchtower    will become dens forever,  a joy of wild donkeys,    a pasture of flocks;15   until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high,    and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field,    and the fruitful field is deemed a forest.16   Then justice will dwell in the wilderness,    and righteousness abide in the fruitful field.17   And the effect of righteousness will be peace,    and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust6 forever.18   My people will abide in a peaceful habitation,    in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.19   And it will hail when the forest falls down,    and the city will be utterly laid low.20   Happy are you who sow beside all waters,    who let the feet of the ox and the donkey range free. Footnotes [1] 30:27 Hebrew in weight of uplifted clouds [2] 30:33 Or For Topheth [3] 31:1 Or Ah, [4] 31:4 The Hebrew words for hosts and to fight sound alike [5] 31:6 Hebrew they [6] 32:17 Or security (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 1 John 3:4–24 1 John 3:4–24 (Listen) 4 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. 5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 6 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 7 Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's1 seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. Love One Another 11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers,2 that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God,3 and God4 in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. Footnotes [1] 3:9 Greek his [2] 3:13 Or brothers and sisters. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, the plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) may refer either to brothers or to brothers and sisters; also verses 14, 16 [3] 3:24 Greek him [4] 3:24 Greek he (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 124 Psalm 124 (Listen) Our Help Is in the Name of the Lord A Song of Ascents. Of David. 124   If it had not been the LORD who was on our side—    let Israel now say—2   if it had not been the LORD who was on our side    when people rose up against us,3   then they would have swallowed us up alive,    when their anger was kindled against us;4   then the flood would have swept us away,    the torrent would have gone over us;5   then over us would have gone    the raging waters. 6   Blessed be the LORD,    who has not given us    as prey to their teeth!7   We have escaped like a bird    from the snare of the fowlers;  the snare is broken,    and we have escaped! 8   Our help is in the name of the LORD,    who made heaven and earth. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 9–10 Job 9–10 (Listen) Job Replies: There Is No Arbiter 9 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Truly I know that it is so:    But how can a man be in the right before God?3   If one wished to contend with him,    one could not answer him once in a thousand times.4   He is wise in heart and mighty in strength    —who has hardened himself against him, and succeeded?—5   he who removes mountains, and they know it not,    when he overturns them in his anger,6   who shakes the earth out of its place,    and its pillars tremble;7   who commands the sun, and it does not rise;    who seals up the stars;8   who alone stretched out the heavens    and trampled the waves of the sea;9   who made the Bear and Orion,    the Pleiades and the chambers of the south;10   who does great things beyond searching out,    and marvelous things beyond number.11   Behold, he passes by me, and I see him not;    he moves on, but I do not perceive him.12   Behold, he snatches away; who can turn him back?    Who will say to him, ‘What are you doing?' 13   “God will not turn back his anger;    beneath him bowed the helpers of Rahab.14   How then can I answer him,    choosing my words with him?15   Though I am in the right, I cannot answer him;    I must appeal for mercy to my accuser.116   If I summoned him and he answered me,    I would not believe that he was listening to my voice.17   For he crushes me with a tempest    and multiplies my wounds without cause;18   he will not let me get my breath,    but fills me with bitterness.19   If it is a contest of strength, behold, he is mighty!    If it is a matter of justice, who can summon him?220   Though I am in the right, my own mouth would condemn me;    though I am blameless, he would prove me perverse.21   I am blameless; I regard not myself;    I loathe my life.22   It is all one; therefore I say,    ‘He destroys both the blameless and the wicked.'23   When disaster brings sudden death,    he mocks at the calamity3 of the innocent.24   The earth is given into the hand of the wicked;    he covers the faces of its judges—    if it is not he, who then is it? 25   “My days are swifter than a runner;    they flee away; they see no good.26   They go by like skiffs of reed,    like an eagle swooping on the prey.27   If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint,    I will put off my sad face, and be of good cheer,'28   I become afraid of all my suffering,    for I know you will not hold me innocent.29   I shall be condemned;    why then do I labor in vain?30   If I wash myself with snow    and cleanse my hands with lye,31   yet you will plunge me into a pit,    and my own clothes will abhor me.32   For he is not a man, as I am, that I might answer him,    that we should come to trial together.33   There is no4 arbiter between us,    who might lay his hand on us both.34   Let him take his rod away from me,    and let not dread of him terrify me.35   Then I would speak without fear of him,    for I am not so in myself. Job Continues: A Plea to God 10   “I loathe my life;  I will give free utterance to my complaint;    I will speak in the bitterness of my soul.2   I will say to God, Do not condemn me;    let me know why you contend against me.3   Does it seem good to you to oppress,    to despise the work of your hands    and favor the designs of the wicked?4   Have you eyes of flesh?    Do you see as man sees?5   Are your days as the days of man,    or your years as a man's years,6   that you seek out my iniquity    and search for my sin,7   although you know that I am not guilty,    and there is none to deliver out of your hand?8   Your hands fashioned and made me,    and now you have destroyed me altogether.9   Remember that you have made me like clay;    and will you return me to the dust?10   Did you not pour me out like milk    and curdle me like cheese?11   You clothed me with skin and flesh,    and knit me together with bones and sinews.12   You have granted me life and steadfast love,    and your care has preserved my spirit.13   Yet these things you hid in your heart;    I know that this was your purpose.14   If I sin, you watch me    and do not acquit me of my iniquity.15   If I am guilty, woe to me!    If I am in the right, I cannot lift up my head,  for I am filled with disgrace    and look on my affliction.16   And were my head lifted up,5 you would hunt me like a lion    and again work wonders against me.17   You renew your witnesses against me    and increase your vexation toward me;    you bring fresh troops against me. 18   “Why did you bring me out from the womb?    Would that I had died before any eye had seen me19   and were as though I had not been,    carried from the womb to the grave.20   Are not my days few?    Then cease, and leave me alone, that I may find a little cheer21   before I go—and I shall not return—    to the land of darkness and deep shadow,22   the land of gloom like thick darkness,    like deep shadow without any order,    where light is as thick darkness.” Footnotes [1] 9:15 Or to my judge [2] 9:19 Or who can grant me a hearing? [3] 9:23 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 9:33 Or Would that there were an [5] 10:16 Hebrew lacks my head (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 29–30:17 Isaiah 29–30:17 (Listen) The Siege of Jerusalem 29   Ah, Ariel, Ariel,    the city where David encamped!  Add year to year;    let the feasts run their round.2   Yet I will distress Ariel,    and there shall be moaning and lamentation,    and she shall be to me like an Ariel.13   And I will encamp against you all around,    and will besiege you with towers    and I will raise siegeworks against you.4   And you will be brought low; from the earth you shall speak,    and from the dust your speech will be bowed down;  your voice shall come from the ground like the voice of a ghost,    and from the dust your speech shall whisper. 5   But the multitude of your foreign foes shall be like small dust,    and the multitude of the ruthless like passing chaff.  And in an instant, suddenly,6     you will be visited by the LORD of hosts  with thunder and with earthquake and great noise,    with whirlwind and tempest, and the flame of a devouring fire.7   And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel,    all that fight against her and her stronghold and distress her,    shall be like a dream, a vision of the night.8   As when a hungry man dreams, and behold, he is eating,    and awakes with his hunger not satisfied,  or as when a thirsty man dreams, and behold, he is drinking,    and awakes faint, with his thirst not quenched,  so shall the multitude of all the nations be    that fight against Mount Zion. 9   Astonish yourselves2 and be astonished;    blind yourselves and be blind!  Be drunk,3 but not with wine;    stagger,4 but not with strong drink!10   For the LORD has poured out upon you    a spirit of deep sleep,  and has closed your eyes (the prophets),    and covered your heads (the seers). 11 And the vision of all this has become to you like the words of a book that is sealed. When men give it to one who can read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” 12 And when they give the book to one who cannot read, saying, “Read this,” he says, “I cannot read.” 13   And the Lord said:  “Because this people draw near with their mouth    and honor me with their lips,    while their hearts are far from me,  and their fear of me is a commandment taught by men,14   therefore, behold, I will again    do wonderful things with this people,    with wonder upon wonder;  and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish,    and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” 15   Ah, you who hide deep from the LORD your counsel,    whose deeds are in the dark,    and who say, “Who sees us? Who knows us?”16   You turn things upside down!  Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,  that the thing made should say of its maker,    “He did not make me”;  or the thing formed say of him who formed it,    “He has no understanding”? 17   Is it not yet a very little while    until Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field,    and the fruitful field shall be regarded as a forest?18   In that day the deaf shall hear    the words of a book,  and out of their gloom and darkness    the eyes of the blind shall see.19   The meek shall obtain fresh joy in the LORD,    and the poor among mankind shall exult in the Holy One of Israel.20   For the ruthless shall come to nothing    and the scoffer cease,    and all who watch to do evil shall be cut off,21   who by a word make a man out to be an offender,    and lay a snare for him who reproves in the gate,    and with an empty plea turn aside him who is in the right. 22 Therefore thus says the LORD, who redeemed Abraham, concerning the house of Jacob:   “Jacob shall no more be ashamed,    no more shall his face grow pale.23   For when he sees his children,    the work of my hands, in his midst,    they will sanctify my name;  they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob    and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.24   And those who go astray in spirit will come to understanding,    and those who murmur will accept instruction.” Do Not Go Down to Egypt 30   “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD,  “who carry out a plan, but not mine,  and who make an alliance,5 but not of my Spirit,    that they may add sin to sin;2   who set out to go down to Egypt,    without asking for my direction,  to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh    and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!3   Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,    and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.4   For though his officials are at Zoan    and his envoys reach Hanes,5   everyone comes to shame    through a people that cannot profit them,  that brings neither help nor profit,    but shame and disgrace.” 6 An oracle on the beasts of the Negeb.   Through a land of trouble and anguish,    from where come the lioness and the lion,    the adder and the flying fiery serpent,  they carry their riches on the backs of donkeys,    and their treasures on the humps of camels,    to a people that cannot profit them.7   

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 123 Psalm 123 (Listen) Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God A Song of Ascents. 123   To you I lift up my eyes,    O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2   Behold, as the eyes of servants    look to the hand of their master,  as the eyes of a maidservant    to the hand of her mistress,  so our eyes look to the LORD our God,    till he has mercy upon us. 3   Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,    for we have had more than enough of contempt.4   Our soul has had more than enough    of the scorn of those who are at ease,    of the contempt of the proud. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 8 Job 8 (Listen) Bildad Speaks: Job Should Repent 8 Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said: 2   “How long will you say these things,    and the words of your mouth be a great wind?3   Does God pervert justice?    Or does the Almighty pervert the right?4   If your children have sinned against him,    he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression.5   If you will seek God    and plead with the Almighty for mercy,6   if you are pure and upright,    surely then he will rouse himself for you    and restore your rightful habitation.7   And though your beginning was small,    your latter days will be very great. 8   “For inquire, please, of bygone ages,    and consider what the fathers have searched out.9   For we are but of yesterday and know nothing,    for our days on earth are a shadow.10   Will they not teach you and tell you    and utter words out of their understanding? 11   “Can papyrus grow where there is no marsh?    Can reeds flourish where there is no water?12   While yet in flower and not cut down,    they wither before any other plant.13   Such are the paths of all who forget God;    the hope of the godless shall perish.14   His confidence is severed,    and his trust is a spider's web.115   He leans against his house, but it does not stand;    he lays hold of it, but it does not endure.16   He is a lush plant before the sun,    and his shoots spread over his garden.17   His roots entwine the stone heap;    he looks upon a house of stones.18   If he is destroyed from his place,    then it will deny him, saying, ‘I have never seen you.'19   Behold, this is the joy of his way,    and out of the soil others will spring. 20   “Behold, God will not reject a blameless man,    nor take the hand of evildoers.21   He will yet fill your mouth with laughter,    and your lips with shouting.22   Those who hate you will be clothed with shame,    and the tent of the wicked will be no more.” Footnotes [1] 8:14 Hebrew house (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 28 Isaiah 28 (Listen) Judgment on Ephraim and Jerusalem 28   Ah, the proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim,    and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley of those overcome with wine!2   Behold, the Lord has one who is mighty and strong;    like a storm of hail, a destroying tempest,  like a storm of mighty, overflowing waters,    he casts down to the earth with his hand.3   The proud crown of the drunkards of Ephraim    will be trodden underfoot;4   and the fading flower of its glorious beauty,    which is on the head of the rich valley,  will be like a first-ripe fig1 before the summer:    when someone sees it, he swallows it    as soon as it is in his hand. 5   In that day the LORD of hosts will be a crown of glory,2    and a diadem of beauty, to the remnant of his people,6   and a spirit of justice to him who sits in judgment,    and strength to those who turn back the battle at the gate. 7   These also reel with wine    and stagger with strong drink;  the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink,    they are swallowed by3 wine,    they stagger with strong drink,  they reel in vision,    they stumble in giving judgment.8   For all tables are full of filthy vomit,    with no space left. 9   “To whom will he teach knowledge,    and to whom will he explain the message?  Those who are weaned from the milk,    those taken from the breast?10   For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little.” 11   For by people of strange lips    and with a foreign tongue  the LORD will speak to this people,12     to whom he has said,  “This is rest;    give rest to the weary;  and this is repose”;    yet they would not hear.13   And the word of the LORD will be to them  precept upon precept, precept upon precept,    line upon line, line upon line,    here a little, there a little,  that they may go, and fall backward,    and be broken, and snared, and taken. A Cornerstone in Zion 14   Therefore hear the word of the LORD, you scoffers,    who rule this people in Jerusalem!15   Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death,    and with Sheol we have an agreement,  when the overwhelming whip passes through    it will not come to us,  for we have made lies our refuge,    and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;16   therefore thus says the Lord GOD,  “Behold, I am the one who has laid4 as a foundation in Zion,    a stone, a tested stone,  a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:    ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'17   And I will make justice the line,    and righteousness the plumb line;  and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies,    and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”18   Then your covenant with death will be annulled,    and your agreement with Sheol will not stand;  when the overwhelming scourge passes through,    you will be beaten down by it.19   As often as it passes through it will take you;    for morning by morning it will pass through,    by day and by night;  and it will be sheer terror to understand the message.20   For the bed is too short to stretch oneself on,    and the covering too narrow to wrap oneself in.21   For the LORD will rise up as on Mount Perazim;    as in the Valley of Gibeon he will be roused;  to do his deed—strange is his deed!    and to work his work—alien is his work!22   Now therefore do not scoff,    lest your bonds be made strong;  for I have heard a decree of destruction    from the Lord GOD of hosts against the whole land. 23   Give ear, and hear my voice;    give attention, and hear my speech.24   Does he who plows for sowing plow continually?    Does he continually open and harrow his ground?25   When he has leveled its surface,    does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,  and put in wheat in rows    and barley in its proper place,    and emmer5 as the border?26   For he is rightly instructed;    his God teaches him. 27   Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge,    nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,  but dill is beaten out with a stick,    and cumin with a rod.28   Does one crush grain for bread?    No, he does not thresh it forever;6  when he drives his cart wheel over it    with his horses, he does not crush it.29   This also comes from the LORD of hosts;    he is wonderful in counsel    and excellent in wisdom. Footnotes [1] 28:4 Or fruit [2] 28:5 The Hebrew words for glory and hosts sound alike [3] 28:7 Or confused by [4] 28:16 Dead Sea Scroll I am laying [5] 28:25 A type of wheat [6] 28:28 Or Grain is crushed for bread; he will surely thresh it, but not forever (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: 1 John 2:7–17 1 John 2:7–17 (Listen) The New Commandment 7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because1 the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him2 there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. 12   I am writing to you, little children,    because your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.13   I am writing to you, fathers,    because you know him who is from the beginning.  I am writing to you, young men,    because you have overcome the evil one.  I write to you, children,    because you know the Father.14   I write to you, fathers,    because you know him who is from the beginning.  I write to you, young men,    because you are strong,    and the word of God abides in you,    and you have overcome the evil one. Do Not Love the World 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life3—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. Footnotes [1] 2:8 Or that [2] 2:10 Or it [3] 2:16 Or pride in possessions (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 122 Psalm 122 (Listen) Let Us Go to the House of the Lord A Song of Ascents. Of David. 122   I was glad when they said to me,    “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”2   Our feet have been standing    within your gates, O Jerusalem! 3   Jerusalem—built as a city    that is bound firmly together,4   to which the tribes go up,    the tribes of the LORD,  as was decreed for1 Israel,    to give thanks to the name of the LORD.5   There thrones for judgment were set,    the thrones of the house of David. 6   Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!    “May they be secure who love you!7   Peace be within your walls    and security within your towers!”8   For my brothers and companions' sake    I will say, “Peace be within you!”9   For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,    I will seek your good. Footnotes [1] 122:4 Or as a testimony for (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 6–7 Job 6–7 (Listen) Job Replies: My Complaint Is Just 6 Then Job answered and said: 2   “Oh that my vexation were weighed,    and all my calamity laid in the balances!3   For then it would be heavier than the sand of the sea;    therefore my words have been rash.4   For the arrows of the Almighty are in me;    my spirit drinks their poison;    the terrors of God are arrayed against me.5   Does the wild donkey bray when he has grass,    or the ox low over his fodder?6   Can that which is tasteless be eaten without salt,    or is there any taste in the juice of the mallow?17   My appetite refuses to touch them;    they are as food that is loathsome to me.2 8   “Oh that I might have my request,    and that God would fulfill my hope,9   that it would please God to crush me,    that he would let loose his hand and cut me off!10   This would be my comfort;    I would even exult3 in pain unsparing,    for I have not denied the words of the Holy One.11   What is my strength, that I should wait?    And what is my end, that I should be patient?12   Is my strength the strength of stones, or is my flesh bronze?13   Have I any help in me,    when resource is driven from me? 14   “He who withholds4 kindness from a friend    forsakes the fear of the Almighty.15   My brothers are treacherous as a torrent-bed,    as torrential streams that pass away,16   which are dark with ice,    and where the snow hides itself.17   When they melt, they disappear;    when it is hot, they vanish from their place.18   The caravans turn aside from their course;    they go up into the waste and perish.19   The caravans of Tema look,    the travelers of Sheba hope.20   They are ashamed because they were confident;    they come there and are disappointed.21   For you have now become nothing;    you see my calamity and are afraid.22   Have I said, ‘Make me a gift'?    Or, ‘From your wealth offer a bribe for me'?23   Or, ‘Deliver me from the adversary's hand'?    Or, ‘Redeem me from the hand of the ruthless'? 24   “Teach me, and I will be silent;    make me understand how I have gone astray.25   How forceful are upright words!    But what does reproof from you reprove?26   Do you think that you can reprove words,    when the speech of a despairing man is wind?27   You would even cast lots over the fatherless,    and bargain over your friend. 28   “But now, be pleased to look at me,    for I will not lie to your face.29   Please turn; let no injustice be done.    Turn now; my vindication is at stake.30   Is there any injustice on my tongue?    Cannot my palate discern the cause of calamity? Job Continues: My Life Has No Hope 7   “Has not man a hard service on earth,    and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?2   Like a slave who longs for the shadow,    and like a hired hand who looks for his wages,3   so I am allotted months of emptiness,    and nights of misery are apportioned to me.4   When I lie down I say, ‘When shall I arise?'    But the night is long,    and I am full of tossing till the dawn.5   My flesh is clothed with worms and dirt;    my skin hardens, then breaks out afresh.6   My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle    and come to their end without hope. 7   “Remember that my life is a breath;    my eye will never again see good.8   The eye of him who sees me will behold me no more;    while your eyes are on me, I shall be gone.9   As the cloud fades and vanishes,    so he who goes down to Sheol does not come up;10   he returns no more to his house,    nor does his place know him anymore. 11   “Therefore I will not restrain my mouth;    I will speak in the anguish of my spirit;    I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.12   Am I the sea, or a sea monster,    that you set a guard over me?13   When I say, ‘My bed will comfort me,    my couch will ease my complaint,'14   then you scare me with dreams    and terrify me with visions,15   so that I would choose strangling    and death rather than my bones.16   I loathe my life; I would not live forever.    Leave me alone, for my days are a breath.17   What is man, that you make so much of him,    and that you set your heart on him,18   visit him every morning    and test him every moment?19   How long will you not look away from me,    nor leave me alone till I swallow my spit?20   If I sin, what do I do to you, you watcher of mankind?    Why have you made me your mark?    Why have I become a burden to you?21   Why do you not pardon my transgression    and take away my iniquity?  For now I shall lie in the earth;    you will seek me, but I shall not be.” Footnotes [1] 6:6 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [2] 6:7 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 6:10 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 6:14 Syriac, Vulgate (compare Targum); the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 26–27 Isaiah 26–27 (Listen) You Keep Him in Perfect Peace 26 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:   “We have a strong city;    he sets up salvation    as walls and bulwarks.2   Open the gates,    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.3   You keep him in perfect peace    whose mind is stayed on you,    because he trusts in you.4   Trust in the LORD forever,    for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock.5   For he has humbled    the inhabitants of the height,    the lofty city.  He lays it low, lays it low to the ground,    casts it to the dust.6   The foot tramples it,    the feet of the poor,    the steps of the needy.” 7   The path of the righteous is level;    you make level the way of the righteous.8   In the path of your judgments,    O LORD, we wait for you;  your name and remembrance    are the desire of our soul.9   My soul yearns for you in the night;    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.  For when your judgments are in the earth,    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.10   If favor is shown to the wicked,    he does not learn righteousness;  in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly    and does not see the majesty of the LORD.11   O LORD, your hand is lifted up,    but they do not see it.  Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.12   O LORD, you will ordain peace for us,    for you have indeed done for us all our works.13   O LORD our God,    other lords besides you have ruled over us,    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.14   They are dead, they will not live;    they are shades, they will not arise;  to that end you have visited them with destruction    and wiped out all remembrance of them.15   But you have increased the nation, O LORD,    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;    you have enlarged all the borders of the land. 16   O LORD, in distress they sought you;    they poured out a whispered prayer    when your discipline was upon them.17   Like a pregnant woman    who writhes and cries out in her pangs    when she is near to giving birth,  so were we because of you, O LORD;18     we were pregnant, we writhed,    but we have given birth to wind.  We have accomplished no deliverance in the earth,    and the inhabitants of the world have not fallen.19   Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.    You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!  For your dew is a dew of light,    and the earth will give birth to the dead. 20   Come, my people, enter your chambers,    and shut your doors behind you;  hide yourselves for a little while    until the fury has passed by.21   For behold, the LORD is coming out from his place    to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity,  and the earth will disclose the blood shed on it,    and will no more cover its slain. The Redemption of Israel 27 In that day the LORD with his hard and great and strong sword will punish Leviathan the fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting serpent, and he will slay the dragon that is in the sea. 2   In that day,  “A pleasant vineyard,1 sing of it!3     I, the LORD, am its keeper;    every moment I water it.    Lest anyone punish it,  I keep it night and day;4     I have no wrath.  Would that I had thorns and briers to battle!    I would march against them,    I would burn them up together.5   Or let them lay hold of my protection,    let them make peace with me,    let them make peace with me.” 6   In days to come2 Jacob shall take root,    Israel shall blossom and put forth shoots    and fill the whole world with fruit. 7   Has he struck them as he struck those who struck them?    Or have they been slain as their slayers were slain?8   Measure by measure,3 by exile you contended with them;    he removed them with his fierce breath4 in the day of the east wind.9   Therefore by this the guilt of Jacob will be atoned for,    and this will be the full fruit of the removal of his sin:5  when he makes all the stones of the altars    like chalkstones crushed to pieces,    no Asherim or incense altars will remain standing.10   For the fortified city is solitary,    a habitation deserted and forsaken, like the wilderness;  there the calf grazes;    there it lies down and strips its branches.11   When its boughs are dry, they are broken;    women come and make a fire of them.  For this is a people without discernment;    therefore he who made them will not have compassion on them;    he who formed them will show them no favor. 12 In that day from the river Euphrates6 to the Brook of Egypt the LORD will thresh out the grain, and you will be gleaned one by one, O people of Israel. 13 And in that day a great trumpet will be blown, and those who were lost in the land of Assyria and those who were driven out to the land of Egypt will come and worship the LORD on the holy mountain at Jerusalem. Footnotes [1] 27:2 Many Hebrew manuscripts A vineyard of wine [2] 27:6 Hebrew In those to come [3] 27:8 Or By driving her away; the meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [4] 27:8 Or wind [5]

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 121 Psalm 121 (Listen) My Help Comes from the Lord A Song of Ascents. 121   I lift up my eyes to the hills.    From where does my help come?2   My help comes from the LORD,    who made heaven and earth. 3   He will not let your foot be moved;    he who keeps you will not slumber.4   Behold, he who keeps Israel    will neither slumber nor sleep. 5   The LORD is your keeper;    the LORD is your shade on your right hand.6   The sun shall not strike you by day,    nor the moon by night. 7   The LORD will keep you from all evil;    he will keep your life.8   The LORD will keep    your going out and your coming in    from this time forth and forevermore. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 4–5 Job 4–5 (Listen) Eliphaz Speaks: The Innocent Prosper 4 Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: 2   “If one ventures a word with you, will you be impatient?    Yet who can keep from speaking?3   Behold, you have instructed many,    and you have strengthened the weak hands.4   Your words have upheld him who was stumbling,    and you have made firm the feeble knees.5   But now it has come to you, and you are impatient;    it touches you, and you are dismayed.6   Is not your fear of God1 your confidence,    and the integrity of your ways your hope? 7   “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished?    Or where were the upright cut off?8   As I have seen, those who plow iniquity    and sow trouble reap the same.9   By the breath of God they perish,    and by the blast of his anger they are consumed.10   The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion,    the teeth of the young lions are broken.11   The strong lion perishes for lack of prey,    and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. 12   “Now a word was brought to me stealthily;    my ear received the whisper of it.13   Amid thoughts from visions of the night,    when deep sleep falls on men,14   dread came upon me, and trembling,    which made all my bones shake.15   A spirit glided past my face;    the hair of my flesh stood up.16   It stood still,    but I could not discern its appearance.  A form was before my eyes;    there was silence, then I heard a voice:17   ‘Can mortal man be in the right before2 God?    Can a man be pure before his Maker?18   Even in his servants he puts no trust,    and his angels he charges with error;19   how much more those who dwell in houses of clay,    whose foundation is in the dust,    who are crushed like3 the moth.20   Between morning and evening they are beaten to pieces;    they perish forever without anyone regarding it.21   Is not their tent-cord plucked up within them,    do they not die, and that without wisdom?' 5   “Call now; is there anyone who will answer you?    To which of the holy ones will you turn?2   Surely vexation kills the fool,    and jealousy slays the simple.3   I have seen the fool taking root,    but suddenly I cursed his dwelling.4   His children are far from safety;    they are crushed in the gate,    and there is no one to deliver them.5   The hungry eat his harvest,    and he takes it even out of thorns,4    and the thirsty pant5 after his6 wealth.6   For affliction does not come from the dust,    nor does trouble sprout from the ground,7   but man is born to trouble    as the sparks fly upward. 8   “As for me, I would seek God,    and to God would I commit my cause,9   who does great things and unsearchable,    marvelous things without number:10   he gives rain on the earth    and sends waters on the fields;11   he sets on high those who are lowly,    and those who mourn are lifted to safety.12   He frustrates the devices of the crafty,    so that their hands achieve no success.13   He catches the wise in their own craftiness,    and the schemes of the wily are brought to a quick end.14   They meet with darkness in the daytime    and grope at noonday as in the night.15   But he saves the needy from the sword of their mouth    and from the hand of the mighty.16   So the poor have hope,    and injustice shuts her mouth. 17   “Behold, blessed is the one whom God reproves;    therefore despise not the discipline of the Almighty.18   For he wounds, but he binds up;    he shatters, but his hands heal.19   He will deliver you from six troubles;    in seven no evil7 shall touch you.20   In famine he will redeem you from death,    and in war from the power of the sword.21   You shall be hidden from the lash of the tongue,    and shall not fear destruction when it comes.22   At destruction and famine you shall laugh,    and shall not fear the beasts of the earth.23   For you shall be in league with the stones of the field,    and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with you.24   You shall know that your tent is at peace,    and you shall inspect your fold and miss nothing.25   You shall know also that your offspring shall be many,    and your descendants as the grass of the earth.26   You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,    like a sheaf gathered up in its season.27   Behold, this we have searched out; it is true.    Hear, and know it for your good.”8 Footnotes [1] 4:6 Hebrew lacks of God [2] 4:17 Or more than; twice in this verse [3] 4:19 Or before [4] 5:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [5] 5:5 Aquila, Symmachus, Syriac, Vulgate; Hebrew could be read as and the snare pants [6] 5:5 Hebrew their [7] 5:19 Or disaster [8] 5:27 Hebrew for yourself (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 25 Isaiah 25 (Listen) God Will Swallow Up Death Forever 25   O LORD, you are my God;    I will exalt you; I will praise your name,  for you have done wonderful things,    plans formed of old, faithful and sure.2   For you have made the city a heap,    the fortified city a ruin;  the foreigners' palace is a city no more;    it will never be rebuilt.3   Therefore strong peoples will glorify you;    cities of ruthless nations will fear you.4   For you have been a stronghold to the poor,    a stronghold to the needy in his distress,    a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat;  for the breath of the ruthless is like a storm against a wall,5     like heat in a dry place.  You subdue the noise of the foreigners;    as heat by the shade of a cloud,    so the song of the ruthless is put down. 6   On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples    a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,    of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.7   And he will swallow up on this mountain    the covering that is cast over all peoples,    the veil that is spread over all nations.8     He will swallow up death forever;  and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,    and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,    for the LORD has spoken.9   It will be said on that day,    “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.    This is the LORD; we have waited for him;    let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”10   For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain,    and Moab shall be trampled down in his place,    as straw is trampled down in a dunghill.111   And he will spread out his hands in the midst of it    as a swimmer spreads his hands out to swim,    but the LORD will lay low his pompous pride together with the skill2 of his hands.12   And the high fortifications of his walls he will bring down,    lay low, and cast to the ground, to the dust. Footnotes [1] 25:10 The Hebrew words for dunghill and for the Moabite town Madmen (Jeremiah 48:2) sound alike [2] 25:11 Or in spite of the skill (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 21 John 21 (Listen) Jesus Appears to Seven Disciples 21 After this Jesus revealed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and he revealed himself in this way. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. 3 Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will go with you.” They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. 5 Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” 6 He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. 7 That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. 8 The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards1 off. 9 When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. 10 Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” 11 So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. 13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. 14 This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. Jesus and Peter 15 When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” 16 He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” 17 He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep. 18 Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you used to dress yourself and walk wherever you wanted, but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will dress you and carry you where you do not want to go.” 19 (This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God.) And after saying this he said to him, “Follow me.” Jesus and the Beloved Apostle 20 Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them, the one who also had leaned back against him during the supper and had said, “Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?” 21 When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, “Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” 23 So the saying spread abroad among the brothers2 that this disciple was not to die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he was not to die, but, “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?” 24 This is the disciple who is bearing witness about these things, and who has written these things, and we know that his testimony is true. 25 Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Footnotes [1] 21:8 Greek two hundred cubits; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 21:23 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 120 Psalm 120 (Listen) Deliver Me, O Lord A Song of Ascents. 120   In my distress I called to the LORD,    and he answered me.2   Deliver me, O LORD,    from lying lips,    from a deceitful tongue. 3   What shall be given to you,    and what more shall be done to you,    you deceitful tongue?4   A warrior's sharp arrows,    with glowing coals of the broom tree! 5   Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,    that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!6   Too long have I had my dwelling    among those who hate peace.7   I am for peace,    but when I speak, they are for war! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 3 Job 3 (Listen) Job Laments His Birth 3 After this Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. 2 And Job said: 3   “Let the day perish on which I was born,    and the night that said,    ‘A man is conceived.'4   Let that day be darkness!    May God above not seek it,    nor light shine upon it.5   Let gloom and deep darkness claim it.    Let clouds dwell upon it;    let the blackness of the day terrify it.6   That night—let thick darkness seize it!    Let it not rejoice among the days of the year;    let it not come into the number of the months.7   Behold, let that night be barren;    let no joyful cry enter it.8   Let those curse it who curse the day,    who are ready to rouse up Leviathan.9   Let the stars of its dawn be dark;    let it hope for light, but have none,    nor see the eyelids of the morning,10   because it did not shut the doors of my mother's womb,    nor hide trouble from my eyes. 11   “Why did I not die at birth,    come out from the womb and expire?12   Why did the knees receive me?    Or why the breasts, that I should nurse?13   For then I would have lain down and been quiet;    I would have slept; then I would have been at rest,14   with kings and counselors of the earth    who rebuilt ruins for themselves,15   or with princes who had gold,    who filled their houses with silver.16   Or why was I not as a hidden stillborn child,    as infants who never see the light?17   There the wicked cease from troubling,    and there the weary are at rest.18   There the prisoners are at ease together;    they hear not the voice of the taskmaster.19   The small and the great are there,    and the slave is free from his master. 20   “Why is light given to him who is in misery,    and life to the bitter in soul,21   who long for death, but it comes not,    and dig for it more than for hidden treasures,22   who rejoice exceedingly    and are glad when they find the grave?23   Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden,    whom God has hedged in?24   For my sighing comes instead of1 my bread,    and my groanings are poured out like water.25   For the thing that I fear comes upon me,    and what I dread befalls me.26   I am not at ease, nor am I quiet;    I have no rest, but trouble comes.” Footnotes [1] 3:24 Or like; Hebrew before (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 24 Isaiah 24 (Listen) Judgment on the Whole Earth 24   Behold, the LORD will empty the earth1 and make it desolate,    and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.2   And it shall be, as with the people, so with the priest;    as with the slave, so with his master;    as with the maid, so with her mistress;  as with the buyer, so with the seller;    as with the lender, so with the borrower;    as with the creditor, so with the debtor.3   The earth shall be utterly empty and utterly plundered;    for the LORD has spoken this word. 4   The earth mourns and withers;    the world languishes and withers;    the highest people of the earth languish.5   The earth lies defiled    under its inhabitants;  for they have transgressed the laws,    violated the statutes,    broken the everlasting covenant.6   Therefore a curse devours the earth,    and its inhabitants suffer for their guilt;  therefore the inhabitants of the earth are scorched,    and few men are left.7   The wine mourns,    the vine languishes,    all the merry-hearted sigh.8   The mirth of the tambourines is stilled,    the noise of the jubilant has ceased,    the mirth of the lyre is stilled.9   No more do they drink wine with singing;    strong drink is bitter to those who drink it.10   The wasted city is broken down;    every house is shut up so that none can enter.11   There is an outcry in the streets for lack of wine;    all joy has grown dark;    the gladness of the earth is banished.12   Desolation is left in the city;    the gates are battered into ruins.13   For thus it shall be in the midst of the earth    among the nations,  as when an olive tree is beaten,    as at the gleaning when the grape harvest is done. 14   They lift up their voices, they sing for joy;    over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west.215   Therefore in the east3 give glory to the LORD;    in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel.16   From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise,    of glory to the Righteous One.  But I say, “I waste away,    I waste away. Woe is me!  For the traitors have betrayed,    with betrayal the traitors have betrayed.” 17   Terror and the pit and the snare4    are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth!18   He who flees at the sound of the terror    shall fall into the pit,  and he who climbs out of the pit    shall be caught in the snare.  For the windows of heaven are opened,    and the foundations of the earth tremble.19   The earth is utterly broken,    the earth is split apart,    the earth is violently shaken.20   The earth staggers like a drunken man;    it sways like a hut;  its transgression lies heavy upon it,    and it falls, and will not rise again. 21   On that day the LORD will punish    the host of heaven, in heaven,    and the kings of the earth, on the earth.22   They will be gathered together    as prisoners in a pit;  they will be shut up in a prison,    and after many days they will be punished.23   Then the moon will be confounded    and the sun ashamed,  for the LORD of hosts reigns    on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem,  and his glory will be before his elders. Footnotes [1] 24:1 Or land; also throughout this chapter [2] 24:14 Hebrew from the sea [3] 24:15 Hebrew in the realm of light, or with the fires [4] 24:17 The Hebrew words for terror, pit, and snare sound alike (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 20 John 20 (Listen) The Resurrection 20 Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2 So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” 3 So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. 4 Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, 7 and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus'1 head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. 8 Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; 9 for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. 10 Then the disciples went back to their homes. Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene 11 But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. 12 And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. 13 They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” 14 Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. 15 Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic,2 “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher). 17 Jesus said to her, “Do not cling to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'” 18 Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord”—and that he had said these things to her. Jesus Appears to the Disciples 19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews,3 Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Jesus and Thomas 24 Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin,4 was not with them when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” 26 Eight days later, his disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” 28 Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” The Purpose of This Book 30 Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. Footnotes [1] 20:7 Greek his [2] 20:16 Or Hebrew [3] 20:19 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time [4] 20:24 Greek Didymus (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 119:89–176 Psalm 119:89–176 (Listen) Lamedh 89   Forever, O LORD, your word    is firmly fixed in the heavens.90   Your faithfulness endures to all generations;    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.91   By your appointment they stand this day,    for all things are your servants.92   If your law had not been my delight,    I would have perished in my affliction.93   I will never forget your precepts,    for by them you have given me life.94   I am yours; save me,    for I have sought your precepts.95   The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,    but I consider your testimonies.96   I have seen a limit to all perfection,    but your commandment is exceedingly broad. Mem 97   Oh how I love your law!    It is my meditation all the day.98   Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,    for it is ever with me.99   I have more understanding than all my teachers,    for your testimonies are my meditation.100   I understand more than the aged,1    for I keep your precepts.101   I hold back my feet from every evil way,    in order to keep your word.102   I do not turn aside from your rules,    for you have taught me.103   How sweet are your words to my taste,    sweeter than honey to my mouth!104   Through your precepts I get understanding;    therefore I hate every false way. Nun 105   Your word is a lamp to my feet    and a light to my path.106   I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,    to keep your righteous rules.107   I am severely afflicted;    give me life, O LORD, according to your word!108   Accept my freewill offerings of praise, O LORD,    and teach me your rules.109   I hold my life in my hand continually,    but I do not forget your law.110   The wicked have laid a snare for me,    but I do not stray from your precepts.111   Your testimonies are my heritage forever,    for they are the joy of my heart.112   I incline my heart to perform your statutes    forever, to the end.2 Samekh 113   I hate the double-minded,    but I love your law.114   You are my hiding place and my shield;    I hope in your word.115   Depart from me, you evildoers,    that I may keep the commandments of my God.116   Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,    and let me not be put to shame in my hope!117   Hold me up, that I may be safe    and have regard for your statutes continually!118   You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,    for their cunning is in vain.119   All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,    therefore I love your testimonies.120   My flesh trembles for fear of you,    and I am afraid of your judgments. Ayin 121   I have done what is just and right;    do not leave me to my oppressors.122   Give your servant a pledge of good;    let not the insolent oppress me.123   My eyes long for your salvation    and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.124   Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,    and teach me your statutes.125   I am your servant; give me understanding,    that I may know your testimonies!126   It is time for the LORD to act,    for your law has been broken.127   Therefore I love your commandments    above gold, above fine gold.128   Therefore I consider all your precepts to be right;    I hate every false way. Pe 129   Your testimonies are wonderful;    therefore my soul keeps them.130   The unfolding of your words gives light;    it imparts understanding to the simple.131   I open my mouth and pant,    because I long for your commandments.132   Turn to me and be gracious to me,    as is your way with those who love your name.133   Keep steady my steps according to your promise,    and let no iniquity get dominion over me.134   Redeem me from man's oppression,    that I may keep your precepts.135   Make your face shine upon your servant,    and teach me your statutes.136   My eyes shed streams of tears,    because people do not keep your law. Tsadhe 137   Righteous are you, O LORD,    and right are your rules.138   You have appointed your testimonies in righteousness    and in all faithfulness.139   My zeal consumes me,    because my foes forget your words.140   Your promise is well tried,    and your servant loves it.141   I am small and despised,    yet I do not forget your precepts.142   Your righteousness is righteous forever,    and your law is true.143   Trouble and anguish have found me out,    but your commandments are my delight.144   Your testimonies are righteous forever;    give me understanding that I may live. Qoph 145   With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD!    I will keep your statutes.146   I call to you; save me,    that I may observe your testimonies.147   I rise before dawn and cry for help;    I hope in your words.148   My eyes are awake before the watches of the night,    that I may meditate on your promise.149   Hear my voice according to your steadfast love;    O LORD, according to your justice give me life.150   They draw near who persecute me with evil purpose;    they are far from your law.151   But you are near, O LORD,    and all your commandments are true.152   Long have I known from your testimonies    that you have founded them forever. Resh 153   Look on my affliction and deliver me,    for I do not forget your law.154   Plead my cause and redeem me;    give me life according to your promise!155   Salvation is far from the wicked,    for they do not seek your statutes.156   Great is your mercy, O LORD;    give me life according to your rules.157   Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,    but I do not swerve from your testimonies.158   I look at the faithless with disgust,    because they do not keep your commands.159   Consider how I love your precepts!    Give me life according to your steadfast love.160   The sum of your word is truth,    and every one of your righteous rules endures forever. Sin and Shin 161   Princes persecute me without cause,    but my heart stands in awe of your words.162   I rejoice at your word    like one who finds great spoil.163   I hate and abhor falsehood,    but I love your law.164   Seven times a day I praise you    for your righteous rules.165   Great peace have those who love your law;    nothing can make them stumble.166   I hope for your salvation, O LORD,    and I do your commandments.167   My soul keeps your testimonies;    I love them exceedingly.168   I keep your precepts and testimonies,    for all my ways are before you. Taw 169   Let my cry come before you, O LORD;    give me understanding according to your word!170   Let my plea come before you;    deliver me according to your word.171   My lips will pour forth praise,    for you teach me your statutes.172   My tongue will sing of your word,    for all your commandments are right.173   Let your hand be ready to help me,    for I have chosen your precepts.174   I long for your salvation, O LORD,    and your law is my delight.175   Let my soul live and praise you,    and let your rules help me.176   I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,    for I do not forget your commandments. Footnotes [1] 119:100 Or the elders [2] 119:112 Or statutes; the reward is eternal (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 2 Job 2 (Listen) Satan Attacks Job's Health 2 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came among them to present himself before the LORD. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 3 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil? He still holds fast his integrity, although you incited me against him to destroy him without reason.” 4 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Skin for skin! All that a man has he will give for his life. 5 But stretch out your hand and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse you to your face.” 6 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, he is in your hand; only spare his life.” 7 So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD and struck Job with loathsome sores from the sole of his foot to the crown of his head. 8 And he took a piece of broken pottery with which to scrape himself while he sat in the ashes. 9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.” 10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?”1 In all this Job did not sin with his lips. Job's Three Friends 11 Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that had come upon him, they came each from his own place, Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him. 12 And when they saw him from a distance, they did not recognize him. And they raised their voices and wept, and they tore their robes and sprinkled dust on their heads toward heaven. 13 And they sat with him on the ground seven days and seven nights, and no one spoke a word to him, for they saw that his suffering was very great. Footnotes [1] 2:10 Or disaster; also verse 11 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 23 Isaiah 23 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Tyre and Sidon 23 The oracle concerning Tyre.   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for Tyre is laid waste, without house or harbor!  From the land of Cyprus1    it is revealed to them.2   Be still, O inhabitants of the coast;    the merchants of Sidon, who cross the sea, have filled you.3   And on many waters  your revenue was the grain of Shihor,    the harvest of the Nile;    you were the merchant of the nations.4   Be ashamed, O Sidon, for the sea has spoken,    the stronghold of the sea, saying:  “I have neither labored nor given birth,    I have neither reared young men    nor brought up young women.”5   When the report comes to Egypt,    they will be in anguish2 over the report about Tyre.6   Cross over to Tarshish;    wail, O inhabitants of the coast!7   Is this your exultant city    whose origin is from days of old,  whose feet carried her    to settle far away?8   Who has purposed this    against Tyre, the bestower of crowns,  whose merchants were princes,    whose traders were the honored of the earth?9   The LORD of hosts has purposed it,    to defile the pompous pride of all glory,3    to dishonor all the honored of the earth.10   Cross over your land like the Nile,    O daughter of Tarshish;    there is no restraint anymore.11   He has stretched out his hand over the sea;    he has shaken the kingdoms;  the LORD has given command concerning Canaan    to destroy its strongholds.12   And he said:  “You will no more exult,    O oppressed virgin daughter of Sidon;  arise, cross over to Cyprus,    even there you will have no rest.” 13 Behold the land of the Chaldeans! This is the people that was not;4 Assyria destined it for wild beasts. They erected their siege towers, they stripped her palaces bare, they made her a ruin. 14   Wail, O ships of Tarshish,    for your stronghold is laid waste. 15 In that day Tyre will be forgotten for seventy years, like the days5 of one king. At the end of seventy years, it will happen to Tyre as in the song of the prostitute: 16   “Take a harp;    go about the city,    O forgotten prostitute!  Make sweet melody;   

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 119:1–88 Psalm 119:1–88 (Listen) Your Word Is a Lamp to My Feet Aleph 119   1 Blessed are those whose way is blameless,    who walk in the law of the LORD!2   Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,    who seek him with their whole heart,3   who also do no wrong,    but walk in his ways!4   You have commanded your precepts    to be kept diligently.5   Oh that my ways may be steadfast    in keeping your statutes!6   Then I shall not be put to shame,    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.7   I will praise you with an upright heart,    when I learn your righteous rules.28   I will keep your statutes;    do not utterly forsake me! Beth 9   How can a young man keep his way pure?    By guarding it according to your word.10   With my whole heart I seek you;    let me not wander from your commandments!11   I have stored up your word in my heart,    that I might not sin against you.12   Blessed are you, O LORD;    teach me your statutes!13   With my lips I declare    all the rules3 of your mouth.14   In the way of your testimonies I delight    as much as in all riches.15   I will meditate on your precepts    and fix my eyes on your ways.16   I will delight in your statutes;    I will not forget your word. Gimel 17   Deal bountifully with your servant,    that I may live and keep your word.18   Open my eyes, that I may behold    wondrous things out of your law.19   I am a sojourner on the earth;    hide not your commandments from me!20   My soul is consumed with longing    for your rules4 at all times.21   You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,    who wander from your commandments.22   Take away from me scorn and contempt,    for I have kept your testimonies.23   Even though princes sit plotting against me,    your servant will meditate on your statutes.24   Your testimonies are my delight;    they are my counselors. Daleth 25   My soul clings to the dust;    give me life according to your word!26   When I told of my ways, you answered me;    teach me your statutes!27   Make me understand the way of your precepts,    and I will meditate on your wondrous works.28   My soul melts away for sorrow;    strengthen me according to your word!29   Put false ways far from me    and graciously teach me your law!30   I have chosen the way of faithfulness;    I set your rules before me.31   I cling to your testimonies, O LORD;    let me not be put to shame!32   I will run in the way of your commandments    when you enlarge my heart!5 He 33   Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes;    and I will keep it to the end.634   Give me understanding, that I may keep your law    and observe it with my whole heart.35   Lead me in the path of your commandments,    for I delight in it.36   Incline my heart to your testimonies,    and not to selfish gain!37   Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things;    and give me life in your ways.38   Confirm to your servant your promise,    that you may be feared.39   Turn away the reproach that I dread,    for your rules are good.40   Behold, I long for your precepts;    in your righteousness give me life! Waw 41   Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD,    your salvation according to your promise;42   then shall I have an answer for him who taunts me,    for I trust in your word.43   And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,    for my hope is in your rules.44   I will keep your law continually,    forever and ever,45   and I shall walk in a wide place,    for I have sought your precepts.46   I will also speak of your testimonies before kings    and shall not be put to shame,47   for I find my delight in your commandments,    which I love.48   I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,    and I will meditate on your statutes. Zayin 49   Remember your word to your servant,    in which you have made me hope.50   This is my comfort in my affliction,    that your promise gives me life.51   The insolent utterly deride me,    but I do not turn away from your law.52   When I think of your rules from of old,    I take comfort, O LORD.53   Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,    who forsake your law.54   Your statutes have been my songs    in the house of my sojourning.55   I remember your name in the night, O LORD,    and keep your law.56   This blessing has fallen to me,    that I have kept your precepts. Heth 57   The LORD is my portion;    I promise to keep your words.58   I entreat your favor with all my heart;    be gracious to me according to your promise.59   When I think on my ways,    I turn my feet to your testimonies;60   I hasten and do not delay    to keep your commandments.61   Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,    I do not forget your law.62   At midnight I rise to praise you,    because of your righteous rules.63   I am a companion of all who fear you,    of those who keep your precepts.64   The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;    teach me your statutes! Teth 65   You have dealt well with your servant,    O LORD, according to your word.66   Teach me good judgment and knowledge,    for I believe in your commandments.67   Before I was afflicted I went astray,    but now I keep your word.68   You are good and do good;    teach me your statutes.69   The insolent smear me with lies,    but with my whole heart I keep your precepts;70   their heart is unfeeling like fat,    but I delight in your law.71   It is good for me that I was afflicted,    that I might learn your statutes.72   The law of your mouth is better to me    than thousands of gold and silver pieces. Yodh 73   Your hands have made and fashioned me;    give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.74   Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,    because I have hoped in your word.75   I know, O LORD, that your rules are righteous,    and that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.76   Let your steadfast love comfort me    according to your promise to your servant.77   Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;    for your law is my delight.78   Let the insolent be put to shame,    because they have wronged me with falsehood;    as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.79   Let those who fear you turn to me,    that they may know your testimonies.80   May my heart be blameless in your statutes,    that I may not be put to shame! Kaph 81   My soul longs for your salvation;    I hope in your word.82   My eyes long for your promise;    I ask, “When will you comfort me?”83   For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,    yet I have not forgotten your statutes.84   How long must your servant endure?7    When will you judge those who persecute me?85   The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;    they do not live according to your law.86   All your commandments are sure;    they persecute me with falsehood; help me!87   They have almost made an end of me on earth,    but I have not forsaken your precepts.88   In your steadfast love give me life,    that I may keep the testimonies of your mouth. Footnotes [1] 119:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem of twenty-two stanzas, following the letters of the Hebrew alphabet; within a stanza, each verse begins with the same Hebrew letter [2] 119:7 Or your just and righteous decrees; also verses 62, 106, 160, 164 [3] 119:13 Or all the just decrees [4] 119:20 Or your just decrees; also verses 30, 39, 43, 52, 75, 102, 108, 137, 156, 175 [5] 119:32 Or for you set my heart free [6] 119:33 Or keep it as my reward [7] 119:84 Hebrew How many are the days of your servant? (ESV) Pentateuch and History: Job 1 Job 1 (Listen) Job's Character and Wealth 1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil. 2 There were born to him seven sons and three daughters. 3 He possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, and 500 female donkeys, and very many servants, so that this man was the greatest of all the people of the east. 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 And when the days of the feast had run their course, Job would send and consecrate them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my children have sinned, and cursed1 God in their hearts.” Thus Job did continually. Satan Allowed to Test Job 6 Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan2 also came among them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, “From where have you come?” Satan answered the LORD and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking up and down on it.” 8 And the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” 9 Then Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does Job fear God for no reason? 10 Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, and he will curse you to your face.” 12 And the LORD said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your hand. Only against him do not stretch out your hand.” So Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Satan Takes Job's Property and Children 13 Now there was a day when his sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 14 and there came a messenger to Job and said, “The oxen were plowing and the donkeys feeding beside them, 15 and the Sabeans fell upon them and took them and struck down the servants3 with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 16 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants and consumed them, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 17 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “The Chaldeans formed three groups and made a raid on the camels and took them and struck down the servants with the edge of the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 18 While he was yet speaking, there came another and said, “Your sons and daughters were eating and drinking wine in their oldest brother's house, 19 and behold, a great wind came across the wilderness and struck the four corners of the house, and it fell upon the young people, and they are dead, and I alone have escaped to tell you.” 20 Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said, “Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.” 22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong. Footnotes [1] 1:5 The Hebrew word bless is used euphemistically for curse in 1:5, 11; 2:5, 9 [2] 1:6 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary; so throughout chapters 1–2 [3] 1:15 Hebrew the young men; also verses 16, 17 (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 22 Isaiah 22 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Jerusalem 22 The oracle concerning the valley of vision.   What do you mean that you have gone up,    all of you, to the housetops,2   you who are full of shoutings,    tumultuous city, exultant town?  Your slain are not slain with the sword    or dead in battle.3   All your leaders have fled together;    without the bow they were captured.  All of you who were found were captured,    though they had fled far away.4   Therefore I said:  “Look away from me;    let me weep bitter tears;  do not labor to comfort me    concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.” 5   For the Lord GOD of hosts has a day    of tumult and trampling and confusion    in the valley of vision,  a battering down of walls    and a shouting to the mountains.6   And Elam bore the quiver    with chariots and horsemen,    and Kir uncovered the shield.7   Your choicest valleys were full of chariots,

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 118 Psalm 118 (Listen) His Steadfast Love Endures Forever 118   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;    for his steadfast love endures forever! 2   Let Israel say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.”3   Let the house of Aaron say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.”4   Let those who fear the LORD say,    “His steadfast love endures forever.” 5   Out of my distress I called on the LORD;    the LORD answered me and set me free.6   The LORD is on my side; I will not fear.    What can man do to me?7   The LORD is on my side as my helper;    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me. 8   It is better to take refuge in the LORD    than to trust in man.9   It is better to take refuge in the LORD    than to trust in princes. 10   All nations surrounded me;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!11   They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!12   They surrounded me like bees;    they went out like a fire among thorns;    in the name of the LORD I cut them off!13   I was pushed hard,1 so that I was falling,    but the LORD helped me. 14   The LORD is my strength and my song;    he has become my salvation.15   Glad songs of salvation    are in the tents of the righteous:  “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly,16     the right hand of the LORD exalts,    the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!” 17   I shall not die, but I shall live,    and recount the deeds of the LORD.18   The LORD has disciplined me severely,    but he has not given me over to death. 19   Open to me the gates of righteousness,    that I may enter through them    and give thanks to the LORD.20   This is the gate of the LORD;    the righteous shall enter through it.21   I thank you that you have answered me    and have become my salvation.22   The stone that the builders rejected    has become the cornerstone.223   This is the LORD's doing;    it is marvelous in our eyes.24   This is the day that the LORD has made;    let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25   Save us, we pray, O LORD!    O LORD, we pray, give us success! 26   Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD!    We bless you from the house of the LORD.27   The LORD is God,    and he has made his light to shine upon us.  Bind the festal sacrifice with cords,    up to the horns of the altar! 28   You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;    you are my God; I will extol you.29   Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;    for his steadfast love endures forever! Footnotes [1] 118:13 Hebrew You (that is, the enemy) pushed me hard [2] 118:22 Hebrew the head of the corner (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 25:22–30 2 Kings 25:22–30 (Listen) Gedaliah Made Governor of Judah 22 And over the people who remained in the land of Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left, he appointed Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, son of Shaphan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains and their men heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah governor, they came with their men to Gedaliah at Mizpah, namely, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Kareah, and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite. 24 And Gedaliah swore to them and their men, saying, “Do not be afraid because of the Chaldean officials. Live in the land and serve the king of Babylon, and it shall be well with you.” 25 But in the seventh month, Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, son of Elishama, of the royal family, came with ten men and struck down Gedaliah and put him to death along with the Jews and the Chaldeans who were with him at Mizpah. 26 Then all the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces arose and went to Egypt, for they were afraid of the Chaldeans. Jehoiachin Released from Prison 27 And in the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year that he began to reign, graciously freed1 Jehoiachin king of Judah from prison. 28 And he spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat above the seats of the kings who were with him in Babylon. 29 So Jehoiachin put off his prison garments. And every day of his life he dined regularly at the king's table, 30 and for his allowance, a regular allowance was given him by the king, according to his daily needs, as long as he lived. Footnotes [1] 25:27 Hebrew reign, lifted up the head of (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 21 Isaiah 21 (Listen) Fallen, Fallen Is Babylon 21 The oracle concerning the wilderness of the sea.   As whirlwinds in the Negeb sweep on,    it comes from the wilderness,    from a terrible land.2   A stern vision is told to me;    the traitor betrays,    and the destroyer destroys.  Go up, O Elam;    lay siege, O Media;  all the sighing she has caused    I bring to an end.3   Therefore my loins are filled with anguish;    pangs have seized me,    like the pangs of a woman in labor;  I am bowed down so that I cannot hear;    I am dismayed so that I cannot see.4   My heart staggers; horror has appalled me;    the twilight I longed for    has been turned for me into trembling.5   They prepare the table,    they spread the rugs,1    they eat, they drink.  Arise, O princes;    oil the shield!6   For thus the Lord said to me:  “Go, set a watchman;    let him announce what he sees.7   When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs,    riders on donkeys, riders on camels,  let him listen diligently,    very diligently.”8   Then he who saw cried out:2  “Upon a watchtower I stand, O Lord,    continually by day,  and at my post I am stationed    whole nights.9   And behold, here come riders,    horsemen in pairs!”  And he answered,    “Fallen, fallen is Babylon;  and all the carved images of her gods    he has shattered to the ground.”10   O my threshed and winnowed one,    what I have heard from the LORD of hosts,    the God of Israel, I announce to you. 11 The oracle concerning Dumah.   One is calling to me from Seir,    “Watchman, what time of the night?    Watchman, what time of the night?”12   The watchman says:  “Morning comes, and also the night.    If you will inquire, inquire;    come back again.” 13 The oracle concerning Arabia.   In the thickets in Arabia you will lodge,    O caravans of Dedanites.14   To the thirsty bring water;    meet the fugitive with bread,    O inhabitants of the land of Tema.15   For they have fled from the swords,    from the drawn sword,  from the bent bow,    and from the press of battle. 16 For thus the Lord said to me, “Within a year, according to the years of a hired worker, all the glory of Kedar will come to an end. 17 And the remainder of the archers of the mighty men of the sons of Kedar will be few, for the LORD, the God of Israel, has spoken.” Footnotes [1] 21:5 Or they set the watchman [2] 21:8 Dead Sea Scroll, Syriac; Masoretic Text Then a lion cried out, or Then he cried out like a lion (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 18:1–27 John 18:1–27 (Listen) Betrayal and Arrest of Jesus 18 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples across the brook Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. 2 Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. 3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.”1 Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus2 said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” 9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” 10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest's servant3 and cut off his right ear. (The servant's name was Malchus.) 11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” Jesus Faces Annas and Caiaphas 12 So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews4 arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people. Peter Denies Jesus 15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the servants5 and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself. The High Priest Questions Jesus 19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” 24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest. Peter Denies Jesus Again 25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27 Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed. Footnotes [1] 18:5 Greek I am; also verses 6, 8 [2] 18:6 Greek he [3] 18:10 Or bondservant; twice in this verse [4] 18:12 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verses 14, 31, 36, 38 [5] 18:18 Or bondservants; also verse 26 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 117 Psalm 117 (Listen) The Lord's Faithfulness Endures Forever 117   Praise the LORD, all nations!    Extol him, all peoples!2   For great is his steadfast love toward us,    and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 24:18–25:21 2 Kings 24:18–25:21 (Listen) Zedekiah Reigns in Judah 18 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 19 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Jehoiakim had done. 20 For because of the anger of the LORD it came to the point in Jerusalem and Judah that he cast them out from his presence. And Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon. Fall and Captivity of Judah 25 And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it. 2 So the city was besieged till the eleventh year of King Zedekiah. 3 On the ninth day of the fourth month the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war fled by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, by the king's garden, and the Chaldeans were around the city. And they went in the direction of the Arabah. 5 But the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook him in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they captured the king and brought him up to the king of Babylon at Riblah, and they passed sentence on him. 7 They slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah and bound him in chains and took him to Babylon. 8 In the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month—that was the nineteenth year of King Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon—Nebuzaradan, the captain of the bodyguard, a servant of the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 9 And he burned the house of the LORD and the king's house and all the houses of Jerusalem; every great house he burned down. 10 And all the army of the Chaldeans, who were with the captain of the guard, broke down the walls around Jerusalem. 11 And the rest of the people who were left in the city and the deserters who had deserted to the king of Babylon, together with the rest of the multitude, Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carried into exile. 12 But the captain of the guard left some of the poorest of the land to be vinedressers and plowmen. 13 And the pillars of bronze that were in the house of the LORD, and the stands and the bronze sea that were in the house of the LORD, the Chaldeans broke in pieces and carried the bronze to Babylon. 14 And they took away the pots and the shovels and the snuffers and the dishes for incense and all the vessels of bronze used in the temple service, 15 the fire pans also and the bowls. What was of gold the captain of the guard took away as gold, and what was of silver, as silver. 16 As for the two pillars, the one sea, and the stands that Solomon had made for the house of the LORD, the bronze of all these vessels was beyond weight. 17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits,1 and on it was a capital of bronze. The height of the capital was three cubits. A latticework and pomegranates, all of bronze, were all around the capital. And the second pillar had the same, with the latticework. 18 And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest and the three keepers of the threshold; 19 and from the city he took an officer who had been in command of the men of war, and five men of the king's council who were found in the city; and the secretary of the commander of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city. 20 And Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard took them and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 21 And the king of Babylon struck them down and put them to death at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So Judah was taken into exile out of its land. Footnotes [1] 25:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 19–20 Isaiah 19–20 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Egypt 19 An oracle concerning Egypt.   Behold, the LORD is riding on a swift cloud    and comes to Egypt;  and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence,    and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.2   And I will stir up Egyptians against Egyptians,    and they will fight, each against another    and each against his neighbor,    city against city, kingdom against kingdom;3   and the spirit of the Egyptians within them will be emptied out,    and I will confound1 their counsel;  and they will inquire of the idols and the sorcerers,    and the mediums and the necromancers;4   and I will give over the Egyptians    into the hand of a hard master,  and a fierce king will rule over them,    declares the Lord GOD of hosts. 5   And the waters of the sea will be dried up,    and the river will be dry and parched,6   and its canals will become foul,    and the branches of Egypt's Nile will diminish and dry up,    reeds and rushes will rot away.7   There will be bare places by the Nile,    on the brink of the Nile,  and all that is sown by the Nile will be parched,    will be driven away, and will be no more.8   The fishermen will mourn and lament,    all who cast a hook in the Nile;  and they will languish    who spread nets on the water.9   The workers in combed flax will be in despair,    and the weavers of white cotton.10   Those who are the pillars of the land will be crushed,    and all who work for pay will be grieved. 11   The princes of Zoan are utterly foolish;    the wisest counselors of Pharaoh give stupid counsel.  How can you say to Pharaoh,    “I am a son of the wise,    a son of ancient kings”?12   Where then are your wise men?    Let them tell you    that they might know what the LORD of hosts has purposed against Egypt.13   The princes of Zoan have become fools,    and the princes of Memphis are deluded;  those who are the cornerstones of her tribes    have made Egypt stagger.14   The LORD has mingled within her a spirit of confusion,  and they will make Egypt stagger in all its deeds,    as a drunken man staggers in his vomit.15   And there will be nothing for Egypt    that head or tail, palm branch or reed, may do. Egypt, Assyria, Israel Blessed 16 In that day the Egyptians will be like women, and tremble with fear before the hand that the LORD of hosts shakes over them. 17 And the land of Judah will become a terror to the Egyptians. Everyone to whom it is mentioned will fear because of the purpose that the LORD of hosts has purposed against them. 18 In that day there will be five cities in the land of Egypt that speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD of hosts. One of these will be called the City of Destruction.2 19 In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border. 20 It will be a sign and a witness to the LORD of hosts in the land of Egypt. When they cry to the LORD because of oppressors, he will send them a savior and defender, and deliver them. 21 And the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and the Egyptians will know the LORD in that day and worship with sacrifice and offering, and they will make vows to the LORD and perform them. 22 And the LORD will strike Egypt, striking and healing, and they will return to the LORD, and he will listen to their pleas for mercy and heal them. 23 In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and Assyria will come into Egypt, and Egypt into Assyria, and the Egyptians will worship with the Assyrians. 24 In that day Israel will be the third with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing in the midst of the earth, 25 whom the LORD of hosts has blessed, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, and Assyria the work of my hands, and Israel my inheritance.” A Sign Against Egypt and Cush 20 In the year that the commander in chief, who was sent by Sargon the king of Assyria, came to Ashdod and fought against it and captured it—2 at that time the LORD spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, “Go, and loose the sackcloth from your waist and take off your sandals from your feet,” and he did so, walking naked and barefoot. 3 Then the LORD said, “As my servant Isaiah has walked naked and barefoot for three years as a sign and a portent against Egypt and Cush,3 4 so shall the king of Assyria lead away the Egyptian captives and the Cushite exiles, both the young and the old, naked and barefoot, with buttocks uncovered, the nakedness of Egypt. 5 Then they shall be dismayed and ashamed because of Cush their hope and of Egypt their boast. 6 And the inhabitants of this coastland will say in that day, ‘Behold, this is what has happened to those in whom we hoped and to whom we fled for help to be delivered from the king of Assyria! And we, how shall we escape?'” Footnotes [1] 19:3 Or I will swallow up [2] 19:18 Dead Sea Scroll and some other manuscripts City of the Sun [3] 20:3 Probably Nubia (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 17 John 17 (Listen) The High Priestly Prayer 17 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. 6 “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.1 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 Sanctify them2 in the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. 19 And for their sake I consecrate myself,3 that they also may be sanctified4 in truth. 20 “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. 26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” Footnotes [1] 17:15 Or from evil [2] 17:17 Greek Set them apart (for holy service to God) [3] 17:19 Or I sanctify myself; or I set myself apart (for holy service to God) [4] 17:19 Greek may be set apart (for holy service to God) (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 116 Psalm 116 (Listen) I Love the Lord 116   I love the LORD, because he has heard    my voice and my pleas for mercy.2   Because he inclined his ear to me,    therefore I will call on him as long as I live.3   The snares of death encompassed me;    the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;    I suffered distress and anguish.4   Then I called on the name of the LORD:    “O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!” 5   Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;    our God is merciful.6   The LORD preserves the simple;    when I was brought low, he saved me.7   Return, O my soul, to your rest;    for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you. 8   For you have delivered my soul from death,    my eyes from tears,    my feet from stumbling;9   I will walk before the LORD    in the land of the living. 10   I believed, even when1 I spoke:    “I am greatly afflicted”;11   I said in my alarm,    “All mankind are liars.” 12   What shall I render to the LORD    for all his benefits to me?13   I will lift up the cup of salvation    and call on the name of the LORD,14   I will pay my vows to the LORD    in the presence of all his people. 15   Precious in the sight of the LORD    is the death of his saints.16   O LORD, I am your servant;    I am your servant, the son of your maidservant.    You have loosed my bonds.17   I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving    and call on the name of the LORD.18   I will pay my vows to the LORD    in the presence of all his people,19   in the courts of the house of the LORD,    in your midst, O Jerusalem.  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 116:10 Or believed, indeed; Septuagint believed, therefore (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 23:31–24:17 2 Kings 23:31–24:17 (Listen) Jehoahaz's Reign and Captivity 31 Jehoahaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. 32 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 And Pharaoh Neco put him in bonds at Riblah in the land of Hamath, that he might not reign in Jerusalem, and laid on the land a tribute of a hundred talents1 of silver and a talent of gold. 34 And Pharaoh Neco made Eliakim the son of Josiah king in the place of Josiah his father, and changed his name to Jehoiakim. But he took Jehoahaz away, and he came to Egypt and died there. 35 And Jehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Pharaoh, but he taxed the land to give the money according to the command of Pharaoh. He exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, from everyone according to his assessment, to give it to Pharaoh Neco. Jehoiakim Reigns in Judah 36 Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Zebidah the daughter of Pedaiah of Rumah. 37 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 24 In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years. Then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 And the LORD sent against him bands of the Chaldeans and bands of the Syrians and bands of the Moabites and bands of the Ammonites, and sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the LORD, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, according to all that he had done, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he had shed. For he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the LORD would not pardon. 5 Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 6 So Jehoiakim slept with his fathers, and Jehoiachin his son reigned in his place. 7 And the king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Brook of Egypt to the river Euphrates. Jehoiachin Reigns in Judah 8 Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Nehushta the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. 9 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. Jerusalem Captured 10 At that time the servants of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged. 11 And Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it, 12 and Jehoiachin the king of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon, himself and his mother and his servants and his officials and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign 13 and carried off all the treasures of the house of the LORD and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the LORD, which Solomon king of Israel had made, as the LORD had foretold. 14 He carried away all Jerusalem and all the officials and all the mighty men of valor, 10,000 captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths. None remained, except the poorest people of the land. 15 And he carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon. The king's mother, the king's wives, his officials, and the chief men of the land he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon. 16 And the king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, 7,000, and the craftsmen and the metal workers, 1,000, all of them strong and fit for war. 17 And the king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin's uncle, king in his place, and changed his name to Zedekiah. Footnotes [1] 23:33 A talent was about 75 pounds or 34 kilograms (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 17–18 Isaiah 17–18 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Damascus 17 An oracle concerning Damascus.   Behold, Damascus will cease to be a city    and will become a heap of ruins.2   The cities of Aroer are deserted;    they will be for flocks,    which will lie down, and none will make them afraid.3   The fortress will disappear from Ephraim,    and the kingdom from Damascus;  and the remnant of Syria will be    like the glory of the children of Israel,      declares the LORD of hosts. 4   And in that day the glory of Jacob will be brought low,    and the fat of his flesh will grow lean.5   And it shall be as when the reaper gathers standing grain    and his arm harvests the ears,  and as when one gleans the ears of grain    in the Valley of Rephaim.6   Gleanings will be left in it,    as when an olive tree is beaten—  two or three berries    in the top of the highest bough,  four or five    on the branches of a fruit tree,      declares the LORD God of Israel. 7 In that day man will look to his Maker, and his eyes will look on the Holy One of Israel. 8 He will not look to the altars, the work of his hands, and he will not look on what his own fingers have made, either the Asherim or the altars of incense. 9 In that day their strong cities will be like the deserted places of the wooded heights and the hilltops, which they deserted because of the children of Israel, and there will be desolation. 10   For you have forgotten the God of your salvation    and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge;  therefore, though you plant pleasant plants    and sow the vine-branch of a stranger,11   though you make them grow1 on the day that you plant them,    and make them blossom in the morning that you sow,  yet the harvest will flee away2    in a day of grief and incurable pain. 12   Ah, the thunder of many peoples;    they thunder like the thundering of the sea!  Ah, the roar of nations;    they roar like the roaring of mighty waters!13   The nations roar like the roaring of many waters,    but he will rebuke them, and they will flee far away,  chased like chaff on the mountains before the wind    and whirling dust before the storm.14   At evening time, behold, terror!    Before morning, they are no more!  This is the portion of those who loot us,    and the lot of those who plunder us. An Oracle Concerning Cush 18   Ah, land of whirring wings    that is beyond the rivers of Cush,32   which sends ambassadors by the sea,    in vessels of papyrus on the waters!  Go, you swift messengers,    to a nation tall and smooth,  to a people feared near and far,    a nation mighty and conquering,    whose land the rivers divide. 3   All you inhabitants of the world,    you who dwell on the earth,  when a signal is raised on the mountains, look!    When a trumpet is blown, hear!4   For thus the LORD said to me:  “I will quietly look from my dwelling    like clear heat in sunshine,    like a cloud of dew in the heat of harvest.”5   For before the harvest, when the blossom is over,    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,  he cuts off the shoots with pruning hooks,    and the spreading branches he lops off and clears away.6   They shall all of them be left    to the birds of prey of the mountains    and to the beasts of the earth.  And the birds of prey will summer on them,    and all the beasts of the earth will winter on them. 7 At that time tribute will be brought to the LORD of hosts   from a people tall and smooth,    from a people feared near and far,  a nation mighty and conquering,    whose land the rivers divide, to Mount Zion, the place of the name of the LORD of hosts. Footnotes [1] 17:11 Or though you carefully fence them [2] 17:11 Or will be a heap [3] 18:1 Probably Nubia (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 16:16–33 John 16:16–33 (Listen) Your Sorrow Will Turn into Joy 16 “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, ‘because I am going to the Father'?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. I Have Overcome the World 25 “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; 27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.1 28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.” 29 His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! 30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.” 31 Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” Footnotes [1] 16:27 Some manuscripts from the Father (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 115 Psalm 115 (Listen) To Your Name Give Glory 115   Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,    for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness! 2   Why should the nations say,    “Where is their God?”3   Our God is in the heavens;    he does all that he pleases. 4   Their idols are silver and gold,    the work of human hands.5   They have mouths, but do not speak;    eyes, but do not see.6   They have ears, but do not hear;    noses, but do not smell.7   They have hands, but do not feel;    feet, but do not walk;    and they do not make a sound in their throat.8   Those who make them become like them;    so do all who trust in them. 9   O Israel,1 trust in the LORD!    He is their help and their shield.10   O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!    He is their help and their shield.11   You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!    He is their help and their shield. 12   The LORD has remembered us; he will bless us;    he will bless the house of Israel;    he will bless the house of Aaron;13   he will bless those who fear the LORD,    both the small and the great. 14   May the LORD give you increase,    you and your children!15   May you be blessed by the LORD,    who made heaven and earth! 16   The heavens are the LORD's heavens,    but the earth he has given to the children of man.17   The dead do not praise the LORD,    nor do any who go down into silence.18   But we will bless the LORD    from this time forth and forevermore.  Praise the LORD! Footnotes [1] 115:9 Masoretic Text; many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac O house of Israel (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 23:1–30 2 Kings 23:1–30 (Listen) Josiah's Reforms 23 Then the king sent, and all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem were gathered to him. 2 And the king went up to the house of the LORD, and with him all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the priests and the prophets, all the people, both small and great. And he read in their hearing all the words of the Book of the Covenant that had been found in the house of the LORD. 3 And the king stood by the pillar and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD and to keep his commandments and his testimonies and his statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people joined in the covenant. 4 And the king commanded Hilkiah the high priest and the priests of the second order and the keepers of the threshold to bring out of the temple of the LORD all the vessels made for Baal, for Asherah, and for all the host of heaven. He burned them outside Jerusalem in the fields of the Kidron and carried their ashes to Bethel. 5 And he deposed the priests whom the kings of Judah had ordained to make offerings in the high places at the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem; those also who burned incense to Baal, to the sun and the moon and the constellations and all the host of the heavens. 6 And he brought out the Asherah from the house of the LORD, outside Jerusalem, to the brook Kidron, and burned it at the brook Kidron and beat it to dust and cast the dust of it upon the graves of the common people. 7 And he broke down the houses of the male cult prostitutes who were in the house of the LORD, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah. 8 And he brought all the priests out of the cities of Judah, and defiled the high places where the priests had made offerings, from Geba to Beersheba. And he broke down the high places of the gates that were at the entrance of the gate of Joshua the governor of the city, which were on one's left at the gate of the city. 9 However, the priests of the high places did not come up to the altar of the LORD in Jerusalem, but they ate unleavened bread among their brothers. 10 And he defiled Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, that no one might burn his son or his daughter as an offering to Molech.1 11 And he removed the horses that the kings of Judah had dedicated to the sun, at the entrance to the house of the LORD, by the chamber of Nathan-melech the chamberlain, which was in the precincts.2 And he burned the chariots of the sun with fire. 12 And the altars on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of the LORD, he pulled down and broke in pieces3 and cast the dust of them into the brook Kidron. 13 And the king defiled the high places that were east of Jerusalem, to the south of the mount of corruption, which Solomon the king of Israel had built for Ashtoreth the abomination of the Sidonians, and for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 14 And he broke in pieces the pillars and cut down the Asherim and filled their places with the bones of men. 15 Moreover, the altar at Bethel, the high place erected by Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, that altar with the high place he pulled down and burned,4 reducing it to dust. He also burned the Asherah. 16 And as Josiah turned, he saw the tombs there on the mount. And he sent and took the bones out of the tombs and burned them on the altar and defiled it, according to the word of the LORD that the man of God proclaimed, who had predicted these things. 17 Then he said, “What is that monument that I see?” And the men of the city told him, “It is the tomb of the man of God who came from Judah and predicted5 these things that you have done against the altar at Bethel.” 18 And he said, “Let him be; let no man move his bones.” So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet who came out of Samaria. 19 And Josiah removed all the shrines also of the high places that were in the cities of Samaria, which kings of Israel had made, provoking the LORD to anger. He did to them according to all that he had done at Bethel. 20 And he sacrificed all the priests of the high places who were there, on the altars, and burned human bones on them. Then he returned to Jerusalem. Josiah Restores the Passover 21 And the king commanded all the people, “Keep the Passover to the LORD your God, as it is written in this Book of the Covenant.” 22 For no such Passover had been kept since the days of the judges who judged Israel, or during all the days of the kings of Israel or of the kings of Judah. 23 But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah this Passover was kept to the LORD in Jerusalem. 24 Moreover, Josiah put away the mediums and the necromancers and the household gods and the idols and all the abominations that were seen in the land of Judah and in Jerusalem, that he might establish the words of the law that were written in the book that Hilkiah the priest found in the house of the LORD. 25 Before him there was no king like him, who turned to the LORD with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the Law of Moses, nor did any like him arise after him. 26 Still the LORD did not turn from the burning of his great wrath, by which his anger was kindled against Judah, because of all the provocations with which Manasseh had provoked him. 27 And the LORD said, “I will remove Judah also out of my sight, as I have removed Israel, and I will cast off this city that I have chosen, Jerusalem, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.” Josiah's Death in Battle 28 Now the rest of the acts of Josiah and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 29 In his days Pharaoh Neco king of Egypt went up to the king of Assyria to the river Euphrates. King Josiah went to meet him, and Pharaoh Neco killed him at Megiddo, as soon as he saw him. 30 And his servants carried him dead in a chariot from Megiddo and brought him to Jerusalem and buried him in his own tomb. And the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's place. Footnotes [1] 23:10 Hebrew might cause his son or daughter to pass through the fire for Molech [2] 23:11 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain [3] 23:12 Hebrew pieces from there [4] 23:15 Septuagint broke in pieces its stones [5] 23:17 Hebrew called (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 15–16 Isaiah 15–16 (Listen) An Oracle Concerning Moab 15 An oracle concerning Moab.   Because Ar of Moab is laid waste in a night,    Moab is undone;  because Kir of Moab is laid waste in a night,    Moab is undone.2   He has gone up to the temple,1 and to Dibon,    to the high places2 to weep;  over Nebo and over Medeba    Moab wails.  On every head is baldness;    every beard is shorn;3   in the streets they wear sackcloth;    on the housetops and in the squares    everyone wails and melts in tears.4   Heshbon and Elealeh cry out;    their voice is heard as far as Jahaz;  therefore the armed men of Moab cry aloud;    his soul trembles.5   My heart cries out for Moab;    her fugitives flee to Zoar,    to Eglath-shelishiyah.  For at the ascent of Luhith    they go up weeping;  on the road to Horonaim    they raise a cry of destruction;6   the waters of Nimrim    are a desolation;  the grass is withered, the vegetation fails,    the greenery is no more.7   Therefore the abundance they have gained    and what they have laid up  they carry away    over the Brook of the Willows.8   For a cry has gone    around the land of Moab;  her wailing reaches to Eglaim;    her wailing reaches to Beer-elim.9   For the waters of Dibon3 are full of blood;    for I will bring upon Dibon even more,  a lion for those of Moab who escape,    for the remnant of the land.16   Send the lamb to the ruler of the land,  from Sela, by way of the desert,    to the mount of the daughter of Zion.2   Like fleeing birds,    like a scattered nest,  so are the daughters of Moab    at the fords of the Arnon. 3   “Give counsel;    grant justice;  make your shade like night    at the height of noon;  shelter the outcasts;    do not reveal the fugitive;4   let the outcasts of Moab    sojourn among you;  be a shelter to them4    from the destroyer.  When the oppressor is no more,    and destruction has ceased,  and he who tramples underfoot has vanished from the land,5   then a throne will be established in steadfast love,    and on it will sit in faithfulness    in the tent of David  one who judges and seeks justice    and is swift to do righteousness.” 6   We have heard of the pride of Moab—    how proud he is!—  of his arrogance, his pride, and his insolence;    in his idle boasting he is not right.7   Therefore let Moab wail for Moab,    let everyone wail.  Mourn, utterly stricken,    for the raisin cakes of Kir-hareseth. 8   For the fields of Heshbon languish,    and the vine of Sibmah;  the lords of the nations    have struck down its branches,  which reached to Jazer    and strayed to the desert;  its shoots spread abroad    and passed over the sea.9   Therefore I weep with the weeping of Jazer    for the vine of Sibmah;  I drench you with my tears,    O Heshbon and Elealeh;  for over your summer fruit and your harvest    the shout has ceased.10   And joy and gladness are taken away from the fruitful field,  and in the vineyards no songs are sung,    no cheers are raised;  no treader treads out wine in the presses;    I have put an end to the shouting.11   Therefore my inner parts moan like a lyre for Moab,    and my inmost self for Kir-hareseth. 12 And when Moab presents himself, when he wearies himself on the high place, when he comes to his sanctuary to pray, he will not prevail. 13 This is the word that the LORD spoke concerning Moab in the past. 14 But now the LORD has spoken, saying, “In three years, like the years of a hired worker, the glory of Moab will be brought into contempt, in spite of all his great multitude, and those who remain will be very few and feeble.” Footnotes [1] 15:2 Hebrew the house [2] 15:2 Or temple, even Dibon to the high places [3] 15:9 Dead Sea Scroll, Vulgate (compare Syriac); Masoretic Text Dimon; twice in this verse [4] 16:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; Masoretic Text let my outcasts sojourn among you; as for Moab, be a shelter to them (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 15:18–16:15 John 15:18–16:15 (Listen) The Hatred of the World 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,1 but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.' 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. 27 And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning. 16 “I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away. 2 They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. 3 And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. The Work of the Holy Spirit “I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?' 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Footnotes [1] 15:22 Greek they would not have sin; also verse 24 (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 114 Psalm 114 (Listen) Tremble at the Presence of the Lord 114   When Israel went out from Egypt,    the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,2   Judah became his sanctuary,    Israel his dominion. 3   The sea looked and fled;    Jordan turned back.4   The mountains skipped like rams,    the hills like lambs. 5   What ails you, O sea, that you flee?    O Jordan, that you turn back?6   O mountains, that you skip like rams?    O hills, like lambs? 7   Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,    at the presence of the God of Jacob,8   who turns the rock into a pool of water,    the flint into a spring of water. (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 22 2 Kings 22 (Listen) Josiah Reigns in Judah 22 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and walked in all the way of David his father, and he did not turn aside to the right or to the left. Josiah Repairs the Temple 3 In the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the king sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, son of Meshullam, the secretary, to the house of the LORD, saying, 4 “Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money that has been brought into the house of the LORD, which the keepers of the threshold have collected from the people. 5 And let it be given into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD, and let them give it to the workmen who are at the house of the LORD, repairing the house 6 (that is, to the carpenters, and to the builders, and to the masons), and let them use it for buying timber and quarried stone to repair the house. 7 But no accounting shall be asked from them for the money that is delivered into their hand, for they deal honestly.” Hilkiah Finds the Book of the Law 8 And Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the house of the LORD.” And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it. 9 And Shaphan the secretary came to the king, and reported to the king, “Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of the LORD.” 10 Then Shaphan the secretary told the king, “Hilkiah the priest has given me a book.” And Shaphan read it before the king. 11 When the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, he tore his clothes. 12 And the king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the secretary, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying, 13 “Go, inquire of the LORD for me, and for the people, and for all Judah, concerning the words of this book that has been found. For great is the wrath of the LORD that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us.” 14 So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asaiah went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe (now she lived in Jerusalem in the Second Quarter), and they talked with her. 15 And she said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: ‘Tell the man who sent you to me, 16 Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will bring disaster upon this place and upon its inhabitants, all the words of the book that the king of Judah has read. 17 Because they have forsaken me and have made offerings to other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the work of their hands, therefore my wrath will be kindled against this place, and it will not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus shall you say to him, Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Regarding the words that you have heard, 19 because your heart was penitent, and you humbled yourself before the LORD, when you heard how I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and you have torn your clothes and wept before me, I also have heard you, declares the LORD. 20 Therefore, behold, I will gather you to your fathers, and you shall be gathered to your grave in peace, and your eyes shall not see all the disaster that I will bring upon this place.'” And they brought back word to the king. (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 13–14 Isaiah 13–14 (Listen) The Judgment of Babylon 13 The oracle concerning Babylon which Isaiah the son of Amoz saw. 2   On a bare hill raise a signal;    cry aloud to them;  wave the hand for them to enter    the gates of the nobles.3   I myself have commanded my consecrated ones,    and have summoned my mighty men to execute my anger,    my proudly exulting ones.1 4   The sound of a tumult is on the mountains    as of a great multitude!  The sound of an uproar of kingdoms,    of nations gathering together!  The LORD of hosts is mustering    a host for battle.5   They come from a distant land,    from the end of the heavens,  the LORD and the weapons of his indignation,    to destroy the whole land.2 6   Wail, for the day of the LORD is near;    as destruction from the Almighty3 it will come!7   Therefore all hands will be feeble,    and every human heart will melt.8   They will be dismayed:    pangs and agony will seize them;    they will be in anguish like a woman in labor.  They will look aghast at one another;    their faces will be aflame. 9   Behold, the day of the LORD comes,    cruel, with wrath and fierce anger,  to make the land a desolation    and to destroy its sinners from it.10   For the stars of the heavens and their constellations    will not give their light;  the sun will be dark at its rising,    and the moon will not shed its light.11   I will punish the world for its evil,    and the wicked for their iniquity;  I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant,    and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.12   I will make people more rare than fine gold,    and mankind than the gold of Ophir.13   Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,    and the earth will be shaken out of its place,  at the wrath of the LORD of hosts    in the day of his fierce anger.14   And like a hunted gazelle,    or like sheep with none to gather them,  each will turn to his own people,    and each will flee to his own land.15   Whoever is found will be thrust through,    and whoever is caught will fall by the sword.16   Their infants will be dashed in pieces    before their eyes;  their houses will be plundered    and their wives ravished. 17   Behold, I am stirring up the Medes against them,    who have no regard for silver    and do not delight in gold.18   Their bows will slaughter4 the young men;    they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;    their eyes will not pity children.19   And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms,    the splendor and pomp of the Chaldeans,  will be like Sodom and Gomorrah    when God overthrew them.20   It will never be inhabited    or lived in for all generations;  no Arab will pitch his tent there;    no shepherds will make their flocks lie down there.21   But wild animals will lie down there,    and their houses will be full of howling creatures;  there ostriches5 will dwell,    and there wild goats will dance.22   Hyenas6 will cry in its towers,    and jackals in the pleasant palaces;  its time is close at hand    and its days will not be prolonged. The Restoration of Jacob 14 For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and will again choose Israel, and will set them in their own land, and sojourners will join them and will attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 2 And the peoples will take them and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them in the LORD's land as male and female slaves.7 They will take captive those who were their captors, and rule over those who oppressed them. Israel's Remnant Taunts Babylon 3 When the LORD has given you rest from your pain and turmoil and the hard service with which you were made to serve, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:   “How the oppressor has ceased,    the insolent fury8 ceased!5   The LORD has broken the staff of the wicked,    the scepter of rulers,6   that struck the peoples in wrath    with unceasing blows,  that ruled the nations in anger    with unrelenting persecution.7   The whole earth is at rest and quiet;    they break forth into singing.8   The cypresses rejoice at you,    the cedars of Lebanon, saying,  ‘Since you were laid low,    no woodcutter comes up against us.'9   Sheol beneath is stirred up    to meet you when you come;  it rouses the shades to greet you,    all who were leaders of the earth;  it raises from their thrones    all who were kings of the nations.10   All of them will answer    and say to you:  ‘You too have become as weak as we!    You have become like us!'11   Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,    the sound of your harps;  maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,    and worms are your covers. 12   “How you are fallen from heaven,    O Day Star, son of Dawn!  How you are cut down to the ground,    you who laid the nations low!13   You said in your heart,    ‘I will ascend to heaven;  above the stars of God    I will set my throne on high;  I will sit on the mount of assembly    in the far reaches of the north;914   I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;    I will make myself like the Most High.'15   But you are brought down to Sheol,    to the far reaches of the pit.16   Those who see you will stare at you    and ponder over you:  ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,    who shook kingdoms,17   who made the world like a desert    and overthrew its cities,    who did not let his prisoners go home?'18   All the kings of the nations lie in glory,    each in his own tomb;1019   but you are cast out, away from your grave,    like a loathed branch,  clothed with the slain, those pierced by the sword,    who go down to the stones of the pit,    like a dead body trampled underfoot.20   You will not be joined with them in burial,    because you have destroyed your land,    you have slain your people.   “May the offspring of evildoers    nevermore be named!21   Prepare slaughter for his sons    because of the guilt of their fathers,  lest they rise and possess the earth,    and fill the face of the world with cities.” 22 “I will rise up against them,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and will cut off from Babylon name and remnant, descendants and posterity,” declares the LORD. 23 “And I will make it a possession of the hedgehog,11 and pools of water, and I will sweep it with the broom of destruction,” declares the LORD of hosts. An Oracle Concerning Assyria 24   The LORD of hosts has sworn:  “As I have planned,    so shall it be,  and as I have purposed,    so shall it stand,25   that I will break the Assyrian in my land,    and on my mountains trample him underfoot;  and his yoke shall depart from them,    and his burden from their shoulder.” 26   This is the purpose that is purposed    concerning the whole earth,  and this is the hand that is stretched out    over all the nations.27   For the LORD of hosts has purposed,    and who will annul it?  His hand is stretched out,    and who will turn it back? An Oracle Concerning Philistia 28 In the year that King Ahaz died came this oracle: 29   Rejoice not, O Philistia, all of you,    that the rod that struck you is broken,  for from the serpent's root will come forth an adder,    and its fruit will be a flying fiery serpent.30   And the firstborn of the poor will graze,    and the needy lie down in safety;  but I will kill your root with famine,    and your remnant it will slay.31   Wail, O gate; cry out, O city;    melt in fear, O Philistia, all of you!  For smoke comes out of the north,    and there is no straggler in his ranks. 32   What will one answer the messengers of the nation?  “The LORD has founded Zion,    and in her the afflicted of his people find refuge.” Footnotes [1] 13:3 Or those who exult in my majesty [2] 13:5 Or earth; also verse 9 [3] 13:6 The Hebrew words for destruction and almighty sound alike [4] 13:18 Hebrew dash in pieces [5] 13:21 Or owls [6] 13:22 Or foxes [7] 14:2 Or servants [8] 14:4 Dead Sea Scroll (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate); the meaning of the word in the Masoretic Text is uncertain [9] 14:13 Or in the remote parts of Zaphon [10] 14:18 Hebrew house [11] 14:23 Possibly porcupine, or owl (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 15:1–17 John 15:1–17 (Listen) I Am the True Vine 15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. 9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. 10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 113 Psalm 113 (Listen) Who Is like the Lord Our God? 113   Praise the LORD!  Praise, O servants of the LORD,    praise the name of the LORD! 2   Blessed be the name of the LORD    from this time forth and forevermore!3   From the rising of the sun to its setting,    the name of the LORD is to be praised! 4   The LORD is high above all nations,    and his glory above the heavens!5   Who is like the LORD our God,    who is seated on high,6   who looks far down    on the heavens and the earth?7   He raises the poor from the dust    and lifts the needy from the ash heap,8   to make them sit with princes,    with the princes of his people.9   He gives the barren woman a home,    making her the joyous mother of children.  Praise the LORD! (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 21 2 Kings 21 (Listen) Manasseh Reigns in Judah 21 Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Hephzibah. 2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the LORD drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places that Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made an Asherah, as Ahab king of Israel had done, and worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 And he built altars in the house of the LORD, of which the LORD had said, “In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. 6 And he burned his son as an offering1 and used fortune-telling and omens and dealt with mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the LORD, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of Asherah that he had made he set in the house of which the LORD said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 And I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the LORD destroyed before the people of Israel. Manasseh's Idolatry Denounced 10 And the LORD said by his servants the prophets, 11 “Because Manasseh king of Judah has committed these abominations and has done things more evil than all that the Amorites did, who were before him, and has made Judah also to sin with his idols, 12 therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Jerusalem and Judah such disaster2 that the ears of everyone who hears of it will tingle. 13 And I will stretch over Jerusalem the measuring line of Samaria, and the plumb line of the house of Ahab, and I will wipe Jerusalem as one wipes a dish, wiping it and turning it upside down. 14 And I will forsake the remnant of my heritage and give them into the hand of their enemies, and they shall become a prey and a spoil to all their enemies, 15 because they have done what is evil in my sight and have provoked me to anger, since the day their fathers came out of Egypt, even to this day.” 16 Moreover, Manasseh shed very much innocent blood, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another, besides the sin that he made Judah to sin so that they did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. 17 Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh and all that he did, and the sin that he committed, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 18 And Manasseh slept with his fathers and was buried in the garden of his house, in the garden of Uzza, and Amon his son reigned in his place. Amon Reigns in Judah 19 Amon was twenty-two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned two years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Meshullemeth the daughter of Haruz of Jotbah. 20 And he did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, as Manasseh his father had done. 21 He walked in all the way in which his father walked and served the idols that his father served and worshiped them. 22 He abandoned the LORD, the God of his fathers, and did not walk in the way of the LORD. 23 And the servants of Amon conspired against him and put the king to death in his house. 24 But the people of the land struck down all those who had conspired against King Amon, and the people of the land made Josiah his son king in his place. 25 Now the rest of the acts of Amon that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 26 And he was buried in his tomb in the garden of Uzza, and Josiah his son reigned in his place. Footnotes [1] 21:6 Hebrew made his son pass through the fire [2] 21:12 Or evil (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 11–12 Isaiah 11–12 (Listen) The Righteous Reign of the Branch 11   There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse,    and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.2   And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him,    the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,    the Spirit of counsel and might,    the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.3   And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see,    or decide disputes by what his ears hear,4   but with righteousness he shall judge the poor,    and decide with equity for the meek of the earth;  and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth,    and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked.5   Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist,    and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6   The wolf shall dwell with the lamb,    and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat,  and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together;    and a little child shall lead them.7   The cow and the bear shall graze;    their young shall lie down together;    and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.8   The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra,    and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.9   They shall not hurt or destroy    in all my holy mountain;  for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD    as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious. 11 In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush,1 from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea. 12   He will raise a signal for the nations    and will assemble the banished of Israel,  and gather the dispersed of Judah    from the four corners of the earth.13   The jealousy of Ephraim shall depart,    and those who harass Judah shall be cut off;  Ephraim shall not be jealous of Judah,    and Judah shall not harass Ephraim.14   But they shall swoop down on the shoulder of the Philistines in the west,    and together they shall plunder the people of the east.  They shall put out their hand against Edom and Moab,    and the Ammonites shall obey them.15   And the LORD will utterly destroy2    the tongue of the Sea of Egypt,  and will wave his hand over the River3    with his scorching breath,4  and strike it into seven channels,    and he will lead people across in sandals.16   And there will be a highway from Assyria    for the remnant that remains of his people,  as there was for Israel    when they came up from the land of Egypt. The Lord Is My Strength and My Song 12   You5 will say in that day:  “I will give thanks to you, O LORD,    for though you were angry with me,  your anger turned away,    that you might comfort me. 2   “Behold, God is my salvation;    I will trust, and will not be afraid;  for the LORD GOD6 is my strength and my song,    and he has become my salvation.” 3 With joy you7 will draw water from the wells of salvation. 4 And you will say in that day:   “Give thanks to the LORD,    call upon his name,  make known his deeds among the peoples,    proclaim that his name is exalted. 5   “Sing praises to the LORD, for he has done gloriously;    let this be made known8 in all the earth.6   Shout, and sing for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,    for great in your9 midst is the Holy One of Israel.” Footnotes [1] 11:11 Probably Nubia [2] 11:15 Hebrew devote to destruction [3] 11:15 That is, the Euphrates [4] 11:15 Or wind [5] 12:1 The Hebrew for you is singular in verse 1 [6] 12:2 Hebrew for Yah, the Lord [7] 12:3 The Hebrew for you is plural in verses 3, 4 [8] 12:5 Or this is made known [9] 12:6 The Hebrew for your in verse 6 is singular, referring to the inhabitant of Zion (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 14 John 14 (Listen) I Am the Way, and the Truth, and the Life 14 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God;1 believe also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?2 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. 4 And you know the way to where I am going.”3 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you had known me, you would have known my Father also.4 From now on you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father'? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. 11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves. 12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. 13 Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask me5 anything in my name, I will do it. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper,6 to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be7 in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. 21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. 25 “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.' If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe. 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no claim on me, 31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here. Footnotes [1] 14:1 Or You believe in God [2] 14:2 Or In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you [3] 14:4 Some manuscripts Where I am going you know, and the way you know [4] 14:7 Or If you know me, you will know my Father also, or If you have known me, you will know my Father also [5] 14:14 Some manuscripts omit me [6] 14:16 Or Advocate, or Counselor; also 14:26; 15:26; 16:7 [7] 14:17 Some manuscripts and is (ESV)

Psalms and Wisdom: Psalm 112 Psalm 112 (Listen) The Righteous Will Never Be Moved 112   1 Praise the LORD!  Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,    who greatly delights in his commandments!2   His offspring will be mighty in the land;    the generation of the upright will be blessed.3   Wealth and riches are in his house,    and his righteousness endures forever.4   Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;    he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.5   It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;    who conducts his affairs with justice.6   For the righteous will never be moved;    he will be remembered forever.7   He is not afraid of bad news;    his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD.8   His heart is steady;2 he will not be afraid,    until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.9   He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;    his righteousness endures forever;    his horn is exalted in honor.10   The wicked man sees it and is angry;    he gnashes his teeth and melts away;    the desire of the wicked will perish! Footnotes [1] 112:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet [2] 112:8 Or established (compare 111:8) (ESV) Pentateuch and History: 2 Kings 20 2 Kings 20 (Listen) Hezekiah's Illness and Recovery 20 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, “Thus says the LORD, ‘Set your house in order, for you shall die; you shall not recover.'” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, saying, 3 “Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. 4 And before Isaiah had gone out of the middle court, the word of the LORD came to him: 5 “Turn back, and say to Hezekiah the leader of my people, Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will heal you. On the third day you shall go up to the house of the LORD, 6 and I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city out of the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city for my own sake and for my servant David's sake.” 7 And Isaiah said, “Bring a cake of figs. And let them take and lay it on the boil, that he may recover.” 8 And Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “What shall be the sign that the LORD will heal me, and that I shall go up to the house of the LORD on the third day?” 9 And Isaiah said, “This shall be the sign to you from the LORD, that the LORD will do the thing that he has promised: shall the shadow go forward ten steps, or go back ten steps?” 10 And Hezekiah answered, “It is an easy thing for the shadow to lengthen ten steps. Rather let the shadow go back ten steps.” 11 And Isaiah the prophet called to the LORD, and he brought the shadow back ten steps, by which it had gone down on the steps of Ahaz. Hezekiah and the Babylonian Envoys 12 At that time Merodach-baladan the son of Baladan, king of Babylon, sent envoys with letters and a present to Hezekiah, for he heard that Hezekiah had been sick. 13 And Hezekiah welcomed them, and he showed them all his treasure house, the silver, the gold, the spices, the precious oil, his armory, all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his house or in all his realm that Hezekiah did not show them. 14 Then Isaiah the prophet came to King Hezekiah, and said to him, “What did these men say? And from where did they come to you?” And Hezekiah said, “They have come from a far country, from Babylon.” 15 He said, “What have they seen in your house?” And Hezekiah answered, “They have seen all that is in my house; there is nothing in my storehouses that I did not show them.” 16 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD: 17 Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon. Nothing shall be left, says the LORD. 18 And some of your own sons, who will come from you, whom you will father, shall be taken away, and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” 19 Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?” 20 The rest of the deeds of Hezekiah and all his might and how he made the pool and the conduit and brought water into the city, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah? 21 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and Manasseh his son reigned in his place. (ESV) Chronicles and Prophets: Isaiah 9:8–10:34 Isaiah 9:8–10:34 (Listen) Judgment on Arrogance and Oppression 8   The Lord has sent a word against Jacob,    and it will fall on Israel;9   and all the people will know,    Ephraim and the inhabitants of Samaria,    who say in pride and in arrogance of heart:10   “The bricks have fallen,    but we will build with dressed stones;  the sycamores have been cut down,    but we will put cedars in their place.”11   But the LORD raises the adversaries of Rezin against him,    and stirs up his enemies.12   The Syrians on the east and the Philistines on the west    devour Israel with open mouth.  For all this his anger has not turned away,    and his hand is stretched out still. 13   The people did not turn to him who struck them,    nor inquire of the LORD of hosts.14   So the LORD cut off from Israel head and tail,    palm branch and reed in one day—15   the elder and honored man is the head,    and the prophet who teaches lies is the tail;16   for those who guide this people have been leading them astray,    and those who are guided by them are swallowed up.17   Therefore the Lord does not rejoice over their young men,    and has no compassion on their fatherless and widows;  for everyone is godless and an evildoer,    and every mouth speaks folly.1  For all this his anger has not turned away,    and his hand is stretched out still. 18   For wickedness burns like a fire;    it consumes briers and thorns;  it kindles the thickets of the forest,    and they roll upward in a column of smoke.19   Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts    the land is scorched,  and the people are like fuel for the fire;    no one spares another.20   They slice meat on the right, but are still hungry,    and they devour on the left, but are not satisfied;  each devours the flesh of his own arm,21   Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim devours Manasseh;    together they are against Judah.  For all this his anger has not turned away,    and his hand is stretched out still. 10   Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees,    and the writers who keep writing oppression,2   to turn aside the needy from justice    and to rob the poor of my people of their right,  that widows may be their spoil,    and that they may make the fatherless their prey!3   What will you do on the day of punishment,    in the ruin that will come from afar?  To whom will you flee for help,    and where will you leave your wealth?4   Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners    or fall among the slain.  For all this his anger has not turned away,    and his hand is stretched out still. Judgment on Arrogant Assyria 5   Woe to Assyria, the rod of my anger;    the staff in their hands is my fury!6   Against a godless nation I send him,    and against the people of my wrath I command him,  to take spoil and seize plunder,    and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.7   But he does not so intend,    and his heart does not so think;  but it is in his heart to destroy,    and to cut off nations not a few;8   for he says:  “Are not my commanders all kings?9   Is not Calno like Carchemish?    Is not Hamath like Arpad?    Is not Samaria like Damascus?10   As my hand has reached to the kingdoms of the idols,    whose carved images were greater than those of Jerusalem and Samaria,11   shall I not do to Jerusalem and her idols    as I have done to Samaria and her images?” 12 When the Lord has finished all his work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, he2 will punish the speech3 of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the boastful look in his eyes. 13 For he says:   “By the strength of my hand I have done it,    and by my wisdom, for I have understanding;  I remove the boundaries of peoples,    and plunder their treasures;    like a bull I bring down those who sit on thrones.14   My hand has found like a nest    the wealth of the peoples;  and as one gathers eggs that have been forsaken,    so I have gathered all the earth;  and there was none that moved a wing    or opened the mouth or chirped.” 15   Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,    or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?  As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,    or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!16   Therefore the Lord GOD of hosts    will send wasting sickness among his stout warriors,  and under his glory a burning will be kindled,    like the burning of fire.17   The light of Israel will become a fire,    and his Holy One a flame,  and it will burn and devour    his thorns and briers in one day.18   The glory of his forest and of his fruitful land    the LORD will destroy, both soul and body,    and it will be as when a sick man wastes away.19   The remnant of the trees of his forest will be so few    that a child can write them down. The Remnant of Israel Will Return 20 In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth. 21 A remnant will return, the remnant of Jacob, to the mighty God. 22 For though your people Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction is decreed, overflowing with righteousness. 23 For the Lord GOD of hosts will make a full end, as decreed, in the midst of all the earth. 24 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD of hosts: “O my people, who dwell in Zion, be not afraid of the Assyrians when they strike with the rod and lift up their staff against you as the Egyptians did. 25 For in a very little while my fury will come to an end, and my anger will be directed to their destruction. 26 And the LORD of hosts will wield against them a whip, as when he struck Midian at the rock of Oreb. And his staff will be over the sea, and he will lift it as he did in Egypt. 27 And in that day his burden will depart from your shoulder, and his yoke from your neck; and the yoke will be broken because of the fat.”4 28   He has come to Aiath;  he has passed through Migron;    at Michmash he stores his baggage;29   they have crossed over the pass;    at Geba they lodge for the night;  Ramah trembles;    Gibeah of Saul has fled.30   Cry aloud, O daughter of Gallim!    Give attention, O Laishah!    O poor Anathoth!31   Madmenah is in flight;    the inhabitants of Gebim flee for safety.32   This very day he will halt at Nob;    he will shake his fist    at the mount of the daughter of Zion,    the hill of Jerusalem. 33   Behold, the Lord GOD of hosts    will lop the boughs with terrifying power;  the great in height will be hewn down,    and the lofty will be brought low.34   He will cut down the thickets of the forest with an axe,    and Lebanon will fall by the Majestic One. Footnotes [1] 9:17 Or speaks disgraceful things [2] 10:12 Hebrew I [3] 10:12 Hebrew fruit [4] 10:27 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain (ESV) Gospels and Epistles: John 13 John 13 (Listen) Jesus Washes the Disciples' Feet 13 Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. 2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. 5 Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” 7 Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.” 8 Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” 9 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet,1 but is completely clean. And you2 are clean, but not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” 12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant3 is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. 18 I am not speaking of all of you; I know whom I have chosen. But the Scripture will be fulfilled,4 ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.' 19 I am telling you this now, before it takes place, that when it does take place you may believe that I am he. 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever receives the one I send receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.” One of You Will Betray Me 21 After saying these things, Jesus was troubled in his spirit, and testified, “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” 22 The disciples looked at one another, uncertain of whom he spoke. 23 One of his disciples, whom Jesus loved, was reclining at table at Jesus' side,5 24 so Simon Peter motioned to him to ask Jesus6 of whom he was speaking. 25 So that disciple, leaning back against Jesus, said to him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is he to whom I will give this morsel of bread when I have dipped it.” So when he had dipped the morsel, he gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. 27 Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” 28 Now no one at the table knew why he said this to him. 29 Some thought that, because Judas had the moneybag, Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or that he should give something to the poor. 30 So, after receiving the morsel of bread, he immediately went out. And it was night. A New Commandment 31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once. 33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. You will seek me, and just as I said to the Jews, so now I also say to you, ‘Where I am going you cannot come.' 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Jesus Foretells Peter's Denial 36 Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward.” 37 Peter said to him, “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. Footnotes [1] 13:10 Some manuscripts omit except for his feet [2] 13:10 The Greek words for you in this verse are plural [3] 13:16 Or bondservant, or slave (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) [4] 13:18 Greek But in order that the Scripture may be fulfilled [5] 13:23 Greek in