Podcasts about Targum

Have any questions, insights, or feedback? Send me a text!Length: 56 minutesSynopsis: Tonight (3/12/25), in lieu of our Wednesday night tefilah shiur, we took up a Purim-related tefilah topic: Esther's tefilah! "But wait," you might object, "where in the Megillah does it say that Esther davened?" The answer: it doesn't—at least not explicitly. But the Midrashim and midrashic Targumim contain several references to her tefilah, and we analyzed the Targum Rishon on Esther 5:1, where her tefilah is spelled out in detail. I wasn't sure if we'd arrive at an understanding, but one of the guys in the shiur offered a great explanation, which I supplemented with my own insights to help us implement Esther's strategy in our own davening.-----מקורות:רמב"ם - משנה תורה: הקדמה, מצוות דרבנןאסתר ד:טו - ה:אתרגום ראשון לאסתר ה:ארלב"ג - שמות יז (סוף פרשת בשלח)תרגום שני לאסתר ה:א-----The Torah content for this week has been sponsored by my friend, Rabbi Dr. Elie Feder. His latest book, Happiness in the Face of Adversity: Powerful Torah Ideas from a Mom's Parting Words, shares the wisdom of Shani Feder a"h, a true Eishes Chayil. This is the kind of Torah I wish more people knew—ideas that directly impact our experience of life. Available now on Amazon.-----If you've gained from what you've learned here, please consider contributing to my Patreon at www.patreon.com/rabbischneeweiss. Alternatively, if you would like to make a direct contribution to the "Rabbi Schneeweiss Torah Content Fund," my Venmo is @Matt-Schneeweiss, and my Zelle and PayPal are mattschneeweiss at gmail. Even a small contribution goes a long way to covering the costs of my podcasts, and will provide me with the financial freedom to produce even more Torah content for you.If you would like to sponsor a day's or a week's worth of content, or if you are interested in enlisting my services as a teacher or tutor, you can reach me at rabbischneeweiss at gmail. Thank you to my listeners for listening, thank you to my readers for reading, and thank you to my supporters for supporting my efforts to make Torah ideas available and accessible to everyone.-----Substack: rabbischneeweiss.substack.com/Patreon: patreon.com/rabbischneeweissYouTube Channel: youtube.com/rabbischneeweissInstagram: instagram.com/rabbischneeweiss/"The Stoic Jew" Podcast: thestoicjew.buzzsprout.com"Machshavah Lab" Podcast: machshavahlab.buzzsprout.com"The Mishlei Podcast": mishlei.buzzsprout.com"Rambam Bekius" Podcast: rambambekius.buzzsprout.com"The Tefilah Podcast": tefilah.buzzsprout.comOld Blog: kolhaseridim.blogspot.com/WhatsApp Content Hub (where I post all my content and announce my public classes): https://chat.whatsapp.com/GEB1EPIAarsELfHWuI2k0HAmazon Wishlist: amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/Y72CSP86S24W?ref_=wl_sharel

התוכן איתא בגמ' "מרדכי מן התורה מנין, דכתיב [בראשון דפ' כי תשא] מר דרור, ומתרגמינן מירא דכיא". וצ"ל: מהי שייכותו של מרדכי הצדיק ל"תרגום" שמורה על ענין הגלות, ולכללות הענין ד"מר דרור", בושם שנעשה מדם חי' טמאה – העבודה של בעלי-תשובה?! ומבאר אדמו"ר מהר"ש שענין זה הוא מצד בני דורו. ויובן ע"פ המבואר שזה שצ"ל "שובה ישראל גו' כי כשלת בעוניך", אף שהכשלון הוא בבחי' עקב שבבנ"י? כי כאשר ה"עקב" נכשל נופל ה"ראש", כי זוהי הוכחה שהראש, שממנו נמשך החיות כל האברים, אינו בשלימות. וזה גם מה שלאחרי חטא העגל נאמר למשה [בפ' כי תשא] "לך רד", "רד מגדולתך", אע"פ שהי' אז בהר ולא הי' לו שום שייכות לזה – דכיון שזהו "עמך", ו"כלום נתתי לך גדולה אלא בשביל ישראל", הנה כאשר יש חסרון בהם, ה"ז חסרון במשה. ועד"ז בנוגע למרדכי, להיותו ראש הסנהדרין שתפקידם הוא להורות דעת את העם שלא יבואו מלכתחילה לידי עבירה, ובדורו היו כאלו ש"נהנו מסעודתו של אותו רשע", ה"ז הוכחה שגם אצלו הי' צ"ל ענין של תשובה. משיחת פורים, ה'תשכ"א ל"הנחה פרטית" או התרגום ללה"ק של השיחה: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=11-03-2025 Synopsis The Gemara says: “Where is Mordechai alluded to in the Torah? As it is written (in rishon of parashas Ki Sisa), ‘mar dror' (pure myrrh), which is translated as ‘mira dachya.'” Seemingly, what connection does Mordechai Hatzaddik have to Targum, which signifies exile, and to “mar dror,” a fragrance derived from the blood of an impure animal – which represents the service of baalei teshuvah? The Rebbe Maharash explains that it's because of the people of Mordechai's generation. This can be understood based on the explanation of the verse, “Return, Yisroel, to Hashem your G-d, for you have stumbled in your iniquity”: seemingly, “stumbling” applies to the level of Yaakov (the “heel”) of the Jewish people, not Yisroel? But the truth is that when the heel stumbles, it's because something isn't correct with the head (which supplies vitality to the heel). This is also why, following the sin of the golden calf, Hashem said to Moshe (in parashas Ki Sisa): “Go, descend” – “Descend from your greatness” – even though Moshe on the mountain with Hashem when the golden calf was made and he had no involvement in the sin – because since they are “your people,” and “isn't it only for the sake of the Jewish people that I granted you greatness,” therefore, if there was a deficiency in them, this reflected a deficiency in Moshe as well. Similarly, regarding Mordechai: Since he was the head of the Sanhedrin, whose job is to impart wisdom to the people so they would not come to sin in the first place, and yet in his generation, there were those who “had enjoyment from the feast of that wicked one,” that showed that Mordechai also had to do teshuvah.Excerpt from sichah of Purim 5721 For a transcript in English of the Sicha: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=11-03-2025

People sometimes think, " Do I really have to work on humility? Is that an obligation? I've heard of Yirat Shamayim, But where is humility on the list of things that I have to work on?" At the beginning of the Bet Halevi's essay on arrogance and humility, he points out that arrogance is a sin. So of course you have to work on it. But there are a lot of things that are sins. Is this something that has to be at the top of my radar? Is it a priority? We hear about movements of Ahavat Yisrael/love your fellow man , and we have movements about that. There's a movement to guard your eyes, as well. But I haven't yet seen a Ga'avah movement where people say, Make Klal Yisrael Humble Again. We don't find such initiatives out there. So let's quote a pasuk in Mishleh from the wisest of men, Shlomo Hamelech, טו ( כח) לֵב צַדִּיק יֶהְגֶּה לַעֲנוֹת: /The heart of a righteous person will considers what to answer. Simply speaking, Rashi and other commentaries understand the word לענות means to answer . Rabbenu Yonah, in his commentary on Mishleh, has a different explanation.. He says the root of the word לענות is the same as ענו / humble or עני /poor Rabbenu Bachye, in his introduction, Parashat Bahar Vayikra 25:1 brings down this pasuk (as in his introduction to many, parshiot, he brings down a pasuk in Mishleh) and he says that the word laanot is the same as the term used when Hashem spoke to Paroah So said God, the God of the Hebrews, עד מתי מאנת לענות מפני / Until when do you refuse to humble yourself in front of Me . Rashi says on that word, לענות follow the Targum. The Targum says, להתכנעא which means to be to be humble . And the root of the word he says is Ani/poor . Base on this Rabbenu Yonah explains the pasuk. He says, the Sadik is always thinking of ways to humble himself. Rabbenu Bachye in that same spot says that's the defining aspect of a sadik. The sadik is someone who humbles himself. And now for Rabbenu Yona's powerful words, יש צורך למערכי לב להתמדת הצעות במחשבות להגיע אל הענוה ולאהוב את השפלות, A person must create compositions in his heart to constant ideas and thoughts to reach humility into being lowly. So Rabbenu Yonah doesn't just say it's a fleeting thought. Rather, there is a need to create compositions constantly, with new ideas on how to become humble. Rav Wolbe used to quote another Rabbenu Yonah in Shaare teshuva (Shaar ג letter 15 ( , where he's talking about the requirement to have Yirat Shamayim . And he says people that are not constantly creating compositions and thinking and understanding, the prophet says strong words about them, Rav Wolbe used to say the term, Orchim Maracha is used by Rav Akiva Eiger, one of the great giants of yesteryear, who wrote a 20-30 piece essay on a topic and called a Maracha . It's like a composition. He says, that's what you have to do for Yirat Shamayim. And I'll add that Rabbenu Yona uses the same word of Orchim Machshevot on humility . These are similar words- where in Shaare Teshuva he says, Letitbonen Tamid, here he says, hatmada/ consistent thoughts. So it may seem like it's a contradiction, to have Anava and Yirah at the same time but we can answer based on another pasuk in Mishleh 22:4. עֵ֣קֶב עֲ֭נָוָה יִרְאַ֣ת יְהֹוָ֑ה עֹ֖שֶׁר וְכָב֣וֹד וְחַיִּֽים׃ / The result of humility is fear of Hashem. The Artscroll commentary on Mishleh quotes from Siftei Chaim, that says, " Arrogance is the primary obstacle to recognizing Hashem. Such a person finds it hard to acknowledge that his abilities are gifts of Hashem for such an awareness would impinge upon his sense of self-importance. A humble person, however, knows he is a minute creature controlled by Hashem, so he automatically develops the fear of Hashem. So we no longer have a contradiction. Rabbenu Yonah is saying both are true. You need to constantly think of ways to have Yirat Shamayim and you have to constantly think it's about being humble because it's one and the same. Rav Wolbe, in his sefer Alei Shor (vol 2 Page 141) on the topic of the learning Mussar in the unit Marechet Limud Mussar/Composition on Learning Mussar, mentions sources and discusses how Mussar is not a new creation. Everything we have is tradition. He quotes from different Amoraim from the Gemara that use the technique of mussar , which is repeating to yourself important principles to penetrate your heart. He quotes from Sanhedrin7A, that when Rav, an Amora, would see a crowd of scholars following him, (fearing that he might get arrogant) he would say the following verse from Iyov 20:7 to himself: כְּֽ֭גֶלְלוֹ לָנֶ֣צַח יֹאבֵ֑ד רֹ֝אָ֗יו יֹאמְר֥וּ אַיּֽוֹ׃ If his stature rises to the heavens, he shall perish forever like his waste Rav quoted this pasuk to avoid getting haughty from all the people are following him . He reminded himself, Calm down. As high as you get, you're not going to be here forever. In a similar practice by Mar Zutra Hasida/the pious, his students would carry him on their shoulders during the Shabbat of the festival discourse when everyone would gather together He would say the pasuk from Mishleh 27:24 כִּ֤י לֹ֣א לְעוֹלָ֣ם חֹ֑סֶן וְאִם־נֵ֝֗זֶר לְד֣וֹר (דור) [וָדֽוֹר]׃ / For riches are not forever And does the crown endure for all generations? So these greatest of the greats were giving themselves Mussar, lest they fall prey to the challenge of arrogance. For a more modern story on the same topic, there is a story is in the Maggid Speaks , the original book by Rabbi Pesach Krohn, which are stories and parables of Rav Shlomo Schwadron z'l the Maggid of Yerushalayim (see page 154). Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer the great Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Etz Chaim (1870 to 1953) was always careful not to write on Chol Hamoed. (People are careful not to write unless it's an emergency, or some kind of a loss or damage would be incurred if you don't write.) but he asked his nephew for a pen and ink to write something. The nephew wanted to know what the emergency is. Under pressure, Rav Isser Zalman revealed that, " On Chol Hamoed, a lot of people come to visit me. I have the ability to look into people. When I'm talking to them, I'm immediately aware of a person's virtues and faults. It hurts me to know the faults of people who come to visit me. Additionally, knowing another's faults can lead me to become arrogant. So I devised a plan: Shlomo Hamelech in Mishleh 4:25 writes, עֵ֭ינֶיךָ לְנֹ֣כַח יַבִּ֑יטוּ וְ֝עַפְעַפֶּ֗יךָ יַיְשִׁ֥רוּ נֶגְדֶּֽךָ׃ / Let your eyes seek honesty and your brows search straightforwardly before you. Now the word lenochach which here is used for honesty , is usually translated towards yourself . So now there's a new meaning. Let your eyes seek yourself. In other words, look at yourself. See your own faults instead of the fault of others. I always keep this pasuk in front of me on a small piece of paper as people are talking to me. It helps me avoid Gaava. But now I can't find that slip of paper. It's an emergency. I have to write this down now, lest I fall into arrogance." Many years after Rav Isser Zalman passed away, Rav Shlomo Schwadron was sitting in the Succah of Rav Isser Zalman's son-in-law on Chol Hamoed and he told over the story. Rav Isser Zalman's daughter, who was listening to the story as well, left the Succah and came back with a smile on her face and a sugar bowl in her hand. She said, " This is the sugar bowl my father kept on his table and on the sugar bowl was etched this pasuk עֵ֭ינֶיךָ לְנֹ֣כַח יַבִּ֑יטוּ וְ֝עַפְעַפֶּ֗יךָ יַיְשִׁ֥רוּ נֶגְדֶּֽךָ׃ He kept it in front of him, but in a hidden way, to give himself this message. This is how the Greats became great, by constantly looking for ideas to humble themselves.

התוכן מענת משיח על שאלת הבעש"ט "אימתי קאתי מר" היתה "לכשיפוצו מעיינותיך חוצה". ומזה מוכח אשר כמו הגאולה, גם מעיינות החסידות שייך לכאו"א מישראל. ואת זה ראו בעיקר אצל הבעש"ט שהסתובב מעיר לעיר ומכפר לכפר וסיפר סיפורים לאנשים הפשוטים שבהם הי' מוסתר מעיינות החסידות, וכן אצל אדמו"ר מוהריי"צ שהשתדל בכל כחות נפשו ש(גם) תורת החסידות יגיע לכאו"א מישראל, ללא הבדל. אלא שאצלו הי' זה באופן שגם המקבל הרגיש בגלוי שזהו פנימיות התורה והבין אפס קצהו. וכ"ז מרומז במ"ש בפ' בשלח "ובני ישראל יוצאים ביד רמה" ות"א "בריש גלי" – האופן בו תהי' (גם) הגאולה שלימה ע"י משיח. ו"בריש" ר"ת ר' שמעון בר יוחאי – ש"בהאי ספרא דילך דאיהו ספר הזהר יפקון בי' מן גלותא ברחמים", ור"ת "ר' ישראל בעל שם" או "ר' ישראל בן שרה", ור"ת "ר' יוסף יצחק בן שטרנא שרה" או "ר' יוסף יצחק בן שלום דוב בער"!משיחת יו"ד שבט ה'תשי"ב ל"הנחה פרטית" או התרגום ללה"ק של השיחה: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=03-02-2025 Synopsis When the Baal Shem Tov asked Moshiach, “When will the Master come?” the reply was, “When your wellsprings will spread outward.” This indicates that just like the Redemption, the wellsprings of Chassidus are for every single Jew. This was seen primarily in the Baal Shem Tov, who traveled from city to city and village to village telling simple people stories in which the wellsprings of Chassidus were concealed. Similarly, the Rebbe my father-in-law strove with all his strength to bring the teachings of Chassidus to every single Jew without distinction. But in his case, it was in such a way that the recipient openly felt that it was the inner dimension of the Torah, and he was able to grasp a small measure of its depth. This is alluded to in the verse in Parashas Beshalach, “The Jewish people were leaving triumphantly” (“b'reish glei” in the Targum), like the complete Redemption through Moshiach. B'reish glei is an acronym for (1) R' Shimon ben Yochai, of whom it is said, “With this sefer of yours, which is the Sefer Hazohar, they will go out of exile with mercy”; (2) “R' Yisrael Baal Shem” or “R' Yisrael ben Sarah”; (3) “R' Yosef Yitzchak ben Shterna Sarah” or “R' Yosef Yitzchak ben Shalom Dov Ber.”Excerpt from sichah of Yud Shevat 5712 For a transcript in English of the Sicha: https://thedailysicha.com/?date=03-02-2025

Friday Bible Study (1/24/25) // 2 Kings 10:1-17 // Visit our website: https://mbchicago.org Follow us to remain connected: Facebook:   / mbc.chicago   Instagram:   / mbc.chicago   TikTok:   / mbc.chicago   Podcasts: Listen on Apple, Spotify & others To support this ministry, you can donate via: Zelle to: info@mbchicago.org Website: https://mbchicago.org/give Venmo: https://venmo.com/mbchurch PayPal: https://paypal.com/donate/?hosted_but... #2Kings | #BibleStudy | #DanielBatarseh | #mbchicago | #mbcchicago | #Bible | #livechurch | #churchlive | #chicagochurch | #chicagochurches | #versebyverse | #church | #chicago | #sermon | #bibleexplained | #bibleproject | #bibleverse 2 Kings 10:1-17 (ESV) Jehu Slaughters Ahab's Descendants 10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,[a] to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons[b] of Ahab, saying, 2 “Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, 3 select the best and fittest of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne and fight for your master's house.” 4 But they were exceedingly afraid and said, “Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?” 5 So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and we will do all that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes.” 6 Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time.” Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were bringing them up. 7 And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king's sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.” 9 Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? 10 Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the Lord, which the Lord spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the Lord has done what he said by his servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining. 12 Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, 13 Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother.” 14 He said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two persons, and he spared none of them. 15 And when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said,[c] “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot. Footnotes a. 2 Kings 10:1 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew rulers of Jezreel b. 2 Kings 10:1 Hebrew lacks of the sons c. 2 Kings 10:15 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Jehu said d. 2 Kings 10:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew they

In this shiur we dive into how Keriat HaTorah evolved through the Middle Ages, and we focus on 3 major changes: the Baal Koreh, the Targum, and the Triennial cycle.

The latest episode of Inward. To learn more about this episode and how you can support Reb Joey's Torah, visit ⁠InwardTorah.org⁠

We discuss whether you can fulfill the mitzvah of sh'naim mikra v'echad Targum by reading along the the baal koreh.

We explore how to perform the rabbinic mitzvah of reading the weekly portion twice from the Chumash and once from its Targum translation (Sh'naim mikra v'echad targum).

Join Geoffrey Stern and Rabbi Adam Mintz in conversation regarding the weekly Torah portion. What happens when language becomes both a bridge and a barrier? In this episode of the "Madlik Disruptive Torah Podcast," the duo delves into Parashat Noah, exploring the Tower of Babel's tale and its implications on linguistic diversity. They unravel how the division of languages shaped rabbinic texts and Jewish tradition, posing questions about unity and communication. Discover how ancient narratives explain modern phenomena, and consider the power of translation in preserving and transforming sacred texts. Is the multiplicity of languages a divine gift or a source of chaos? Explore the Sefaria source sheet www.sefaria.org/sheets/599916  Transcript on episode web page: https://madlik.com/2024/10/31/words-without-borders/ 

Marty Solomon and Brent Billings join Elle Grover Fricks to close out this series from the Talmud and return to a well where Jesus talks with a Samaritan woman.Cairo Geniza — WikipediaUmm el-Qanatir — WikipediaPesher — WikipediaTargum — WikipediaPeshitta — WikipediaOnkelos — Wikipedia“Here's Something about the Bible of the First Christians I Bet Many of You Didn't Know (You're Welcome)” by Peter Enns — PatheosOrigin of the Old Testament — The Bible for Normal People“Tell all the truth but tell it slant” (poem) by Emily Dickinson“Jacob Traditions and the Interpretation of John 4:10–26” by Jerome H. Neyrey — JSTOREliezer ben Hurcanus — WikipediaPirkei DeRabbi Eliezer — SefariaOnly the Lover Sings by Matthew Clark

This podcast has been graciously sponsored by JewishPodcasts.fm. There is much overhead to maintain this service so please help us continue our goal of helping Jewish lecturers become podcasters and support us with a donation: https://thechesedfund.com/jewishpodcasts/donate

Metatron sounds like a character from the Transformers. Who is he? Why do several religions recognize him? Is he the link between us and the spirit realm? Does he keep a record of us? Is he an angel equal to or higher than Michael the Archangel? Or, is he disguised as someone else altogether?Email us at: downtherh@protonmail.com

Today's lesson delves into the fascinating connection between John's use of "the Word" and the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible, known as Targum. Scholars have long interpreted the Gospel of John through a Greek philosophical lens due to its Greek composition and the term "Logos" used for Jesus. However, recent scholarship has shed light on the profoundly Jewish nature of John's Gospel, revealing a rich background tied to the Aramaic term "Memra," meaning "word." In this lesson, titled "The Gospel of the Memra," we explore the Targum's significant role in shaping Jewish thought during the time of Jesus. The Targum, the Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible, were crucial for many Jews returning from Aramaic-speaking Babylon who no longer understood Hebrew. These translations, often accompanied by interpretative additions, frequently mentioned "the Memra of the Lord" at critical moments when God interacted with creation. We will examine what a Targum is and provide examples showing how the Targum expresses the same truths found in John's Gospel. In first-century Judaism, the "Memra of the Lord" was understood as the agent through whom God created, revealed, and healed. This understanding allowed John to begin his Gospel with the profound declaration, "In the beginning was the Word." Join us as we uncover the rich Jewish context behind the Gospel of John, enhancing our understanding of how first-century Jews perceived Jesus as the embodiment of the divine "Memra." This exploration offers a deeper insight into the religious thinking within first-century Judaism and enriches our comprehension of John's profound theological message. Don't forget to like, share, and subscribe to stay updated on our latest teachings! ----------------------------------------------------- www.figtreeteaching.com Support Fig Tree Ministries: https://donorbox.org/support-figtree-ministries Fig Tree Amazon Portal: https://amzn.to/3USMelI Class Handout: https://www.figtreeteaching.com/blog/gospel-of-the-memra YouTube: https://youtu.be/Ovj_k2RvZ2E References: John Ronning - The Jewish Targums and John's Logos Theology https://amzn.to/460HnTj Michael B. Shepherd - Targums, the New Testament, and Biblical Theology of the Messiah https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1297&context=biblical_and_ministry_studies_publications Daniel Boyarin - Logos, A Jewish Word - https://www.figtreeteaching.com/uploads/1/1/9/7/119763168/daniel_boyarin_logos_a_jewish_word_john.pdf PDF - Marian Hillar - From Logos to Trinity - https://www.adventistas.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Marian_Hillar_From_Logos_to_Trinity__The_Evolution....pdf

In honor of the Mevaseret Talmidim who took upon themselves to learn Shnayim Mikra V'echad Targum this year, Rav Glanz and Rav Burg Fabrenged in Mevaseret. (Shiur begins at the 4:30 mark). Rav Burg explains how the sefer of Shemos, which is the Sefer of our redemption, is connected to the notion of Shnayim Mikra V'echad Targum. Only when we see the unity in all of the voices of Torah will we be worthy of rebuilding the Beis HaMikdash.

As a graduating senior at Rutgers, Ellis Gordon shares his unique perspective in covering men's basketball, football and more during his four years as a student. We discuss Schiano 2.0, Steve Pikiell's offense, the 2024 recruiting class and much more.

Alex Volkov serves as the AI Evangelist with Weights & Biases, Host of ThursdAI, Founder and CEO Targum and AI Consultant GPU POOR Def. not an owl. MLOps podcast #215 with Alex Volkov, AI Evangelist at Weights & Biases, Becoming an AI Evangelist. // Abstract Follow Alex's journey into the world of AI, from being interested in running his first AI models to founding an AI startup, running a successful weekly AI news podcast & newsletter, and landing a job with  @WeightsBiases . // Bio Alex Volkov is an AI Evangelist at Weights & Biases, celebrated for his expertise in clarifying the complexities of AI and advocating for its beneficial uses. He is the founder and host of ThursdAI, a weekly newsletter and podcast that explores the latest in AI, its practical applications, open-source and innovation. With a solid foundation as an AI startup founder and 20 years in full-stack software engineering, Alex offers a deep well of experience and insight into AI innovation. // MLOps Jobs board https://mlops.pallet.xyz/jobs // MLOps Swag/Merch https://mlops-community.myshopify.com/ // Related Links Evaluation Survey: https://hq.yougot.us/primary/WebInterview/3AW6LW5D/Start Website: https://thursdai.news Alex on X (+X spaces also are also there) - https://twitter.com/altryne/ ThursdAI podcast/newsletter - https://sub.thursdai.news Denver local AI tinkerers meetup - https://denver-boulder.aitinkerers.org/ Weights & Biases Growth Team hack week review - https://www.youtube.com/watchInterview w/ Crew AI creator Joao Moura - https://sub.thursdai.news/p/jan14-sunday-special-deep-dives --------------- ✌️Connect With Us ✌️ ------------- Join our slack community: https://go.mlops.community/slack Follow us on Twitter: @mlopscommunity Sign up for the next meetup: https://go.mlops.community/register Catch all episodes, blogs, newsletters, and more: https://mlops.community/ Connect with Demetrios on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dpbrinkm/ Connect with Alex on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-volkov-/

We continue our series on mysticism by exploring Judaism and its mystical tradition, including the famous Kabbalah but also going beyond it.Sources/Recomended Reading: Dan, Joseph (1986). "The Early Kabbalah". Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Paulist Press. Fine, Lawrence (2003). "Physician of the Soul, Healer of the Cosmos: Isaac Luria and His Kabbalistic Fellowship". Stanford University Press. Idel, Moshe (1987). "The Mystical Experience in Abraham Abulafia". State University of New York Press. Idel, Moshe (1988). "Studies in Ecstatic Kabbalah". State University of New York Press. Idel, Moshe (1990). "Kabbalah: New Perspectives". Yale University Press. Idel, Moshe (1995). "Hasidism: Between Ecstacy and Magic". SUNY Press.Kaplan, Aryeh (translated by) (1990). "The Bahir: Illumination". Red Wheel/Weiser; Revised ed. edition. Kraemer, Joel L. (2010). "Maimonides: The Life and World of one of Civilization's Greatest Minds". Doubleday & Co Inc. Krassen, Mosheh Aaron. “Introduction: Rabbi Israel Ba'al Shem Tov: Prophet of a New Paradigm.” In Israel ben Eliezer. Pillar of Prayer. Translated by Menachem Kallus. Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2010. Lobel, Diana (2021). "Moses and Abraham Maimonides: Encountering the Divine". Academic Studies Press. Miller, Moshe (translated by) (1994). "The Palm Tree of Devorah". Targum. Russ-Fishbane, Elisha (2015). "Judaism, Sufism, and the Pietists of Medieval Egypt: A study of Abraham Maimonides and his times". Oxford University Press. Scholem, Gershom (1995). "Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism". Schocken Books; Revised edition. Scholem, Gershom (1996). "On the Kabbalah and its Symbolism". Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group; Revised ed. edition. Wolfson, Elliot R. (1997). “Jewish mysticism: A Philosophical Overview,” in History of Jewish Philosophy, Daniel Frank, Oliver Leaman (eds.). Wolfson, Eliot R. (2011). “Abraham ben Samuel Abulafia and the Prophetic Kabbalah”. In Jewish Mysticism & Kabbalah (ed. Frederick E. Greenspahn). New York University Press. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Old Testament: Zechariah 10–14 Zechariah 10–14 (Listen) The Restoration for Judah and Israel 10   Ask rain from the LORD    in the season of the spring rain,  from the LORD who makes the storm clouds,    and he will give them showers of rain,    to everyone the vegetation in the field.2   For the household gods utter nonsense,    and the diviners see lies;  they tell false dreams    and give empty consolation.  Therefore the people wander like sheep;    they are afflicted for lack of a shepherd. 3   “My anger is hot against the shepherds,    and I will punish the leaders;1  for the LORD of hosts cares for his flock, the house of Judah,    and will make them like his majestic steed in battle.4   From him shall come the cornerstone,    from him the tent peg,  from him the battle bow,    from him every ruler—all of them together.5   They shall be like mighty men in battle,    trampling the foe in the mud of the streets;  they shall fight because the LORD is with them,    and they shall put to shame the riders on horses. 6   “I will strengthen the house of Judah,    and I will save the house of Joseph.  I will bring them back because I have compassion on them,    and they shall be as though I had not rejected them,    for I am the LORD their God and I will answer them.7   Then Ephraim shall become like a mighty warrior,    and their hearts shall be glad as with wine.  Their children shall see it and be glad;    their hearts shall rejoice in the LORD. 8   “I will whistle for them and gather them in,    for I have redeemed them,    and they shall be as many as they were before.9   Though I scattered them among the nations,    yet in far countries they shall remember me,    and with their children they shall live and return.10   I will bring them home from the land of Egypt,    and gather them from Assyria,  and I will bring them to the land of Gilead and to Lebanon,    till there is no room for them.11   He shall pass through the sea of troubles    and strike down the waves of the sea,    and all the depths of the Nile shall be dried up.  The pride of Assyria shall be laid low,    and the scepter of Egypt shall depart.12   I will make them strong in the LORD,    and they shall walk in his name,”      declares the LORD. The Flock Doomed to Slaughter 11   Open your doors, O Lebanon,    that the fire may devour your cedars!2   Wail, O cypress, for the cedar has fallen,    for the glorious trees are ruined!  Wail, oaks of Bashan,    for the thick forest has been felled!3   The sound of the wail of the shepherds,    for their glory is ruined!  The sound of the roar of the lions,    for the thicket of the Jordan is ruined! 4 Thus said the LORD my God: “Become shepherd of the flock doomed to slaughter. 5 Those who buy them slaughter them and go unpunished, and those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, I have become rich,' and their own shepherds have no pity on them. 6 For I will no longer have pity on the inhabitants of this land, declares the LORD. Behold, I will cause each of them to fall into the hand of his neighbor, and each into the hand of his king, and they shall crush the land, and I will deliver none from their hand.” 7 So I became the shepherd of the flock doomed to be slaughtered by the sheep traders. And I took two staffs, one I named Favor, the other I named Union. And I tended the sheep. 8 In one month I destroyed the three shepherds. But I became impatient with them, and they also detested me. 9 So I said, “I will not be your shepherd. What is to die, let it die. What is to be destroyed, let it be destroyed. And let those who are left devour the flesh of one another.” 10 And I took my staff Favor, and I broke it, annulling the covenant that I had made with all the peoples. 11 So it was annulled on that day, and the sheep traders, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD. 12 Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. 13 Then the LORD said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD, to the potter. 14 Then I broke my second staff Union, annulling the brotherhood between Judah and Israel. 15 Then the LORD said to me, “Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young or heal the maimed or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs. 17   “Woe to my worthless shepherd,    who deserts the flock!  May the sword strike his arm    and his right eye!  Let his arm be wholly withered,    his right eye utterly blinded!” The Lord Will Give Salvation 12 The oracle of the word of the LORD concerning Israel: Thus declares the LORD, who stretched out the heavens and founded the earth and formed the spirit of man within him: 2 “Behold, I am about to make Jerusalem a cup of staggering to all the surrounding peoples. The siege of Jerusalem will also be against Judah. 3 On that day I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will surely hurt themselves. And all the nations of the earth will gather against it. 4 On that day, declares the LORD, I will strike every horse with panic, and its rider with madness. But for the sake of the house of Judah I will keep my eyes open, when I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. 5 Then the clans of Judah shall say to themselves, ‘The inhabitants of Jerusalem have strength through the LORD of hosts, their God.' 6 “On that day I will make the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood, like a flaming torch among sheaves. And they shall devour to the right and to the left all the surrounding peoples, while Jerusalem shall again be inhabited in its place, in Jerusalem. 7 “And the LORD will give salvation to the tents of Judah first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of Jerusalem may not surpass that of Judah. 8 On that day the LORD will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the LORD, going before them. 9 And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. Him Whom They Have Pierced 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. 11 On that day the mourning in Jerusalem will be as great as the mourning for Hadad-rimmon in the plain of Megiddo. 12 The land shall mourn, each family2 by itself: the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the house of Nathan by itself, and their wives by themselves; 13 the family of the house of Levi by itself, and their wives by themselves; the family of the Shimeites by itself, and their wives by themselves; 14 and all the families that are left, each by itself, and their wives by themselves. 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'3 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'4 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.5 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.6 7 And there shall be a unique7 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea8 and half of them to the western sea.9 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.10 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.11 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;12 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader13 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 10:3 Hebrew the male goats [2] 12:12 Or clan; throughout verses 12–14 [3] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [4] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [5] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [6] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [7] 14:7 Hebrew one [8] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [9] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [10] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [11] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [12] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [13] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) Psalm: 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) New Testament: Revelation 20–21 Revelation 20–21 (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. The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place3 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,4 and God himself will be with them as their God.5 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The New Jerusalem 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.6 Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits7 by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is th

Morning: Zechariah 13–14 Zechariah 13–14 (Listen) 13 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness. Idolatry Cut Off 2 “And on that day, declares the LORD of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness. 3 And if anyone again prophesies, his father and mother who bore him will say to him, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the LORD.' And his father and mother who bore him shall pierce him through when he prophesies. 4 “On that day every prophet will be ashamed of his vision when he prophesies. He will not put on a hairy cloak in order to deceive, 5 but he will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a worker of the soil, for a man sold me in my youth.'1 6 And if one asks him, ‘What are these wounds on your back?'2 he will say, ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.' The Shepherd Struck 7   “Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,    against the man who stands next to me,”      declares the LORD of hosts.   “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered;    I will turn my hand against the little ones.8   In the whole land, declares the LORD,    two thirds shall be cut off and perish,    and one third shall be left alive.9   And I will put this third into the fire,    and refine them as one refines silver,    and test them as gold is tested.  They will call upon my name,    and I will answer them.  I will say, ‘They are my people';    and they will say, ‘The LORD is my God.'” The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.3 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.4 7 And there shall be a unique5 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea6 and half of them to the western sea.7 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.8 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.9 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;10 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader11 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 13:5 Or for the land has been my possession since my youth [2] 13:6 Or on your chest; Hebrew wounds between your hands [3] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [4] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [5] 14:7 Hebrew one [6] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [7] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [8] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [9] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [10] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [11] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) Evening: Revelation 21 Revelation 21 (Listen) The New Heaven and the New Earth 21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place1 of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,2 and God himself will be with them as their God.3 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” The New Jerusalem 9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed—13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. 15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia.4 Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits5 by human measurement, which is also an angel's measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. 22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Footnotes [1] 21:3 Or tabernacle [2] 21:3 Some manuscripts peoples [3] 21:3 Some manuscripts omit as their God [4] 21:16 About 1,380 miles; a stadion was about 607 feet or 185 meters [5] 21:17 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters (ESV)

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

With family: 2 Chronicles 32; Revelation 18 2 Chronicles 32 (Listen) Sennacherib Invades Judah 32 After these things and these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah and encamped against the fortified cities, thinking to win them for himself. 2 And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib had come and intended to fight against Jerusalem, 3 he planned with his officers and his mighty men to stop the water of the springs that were outside the city; and they helped him. 4 A great many people were gathered, and they stopped all the springs and the brook that flowed through the land, saying, “Why should the kings of Assyria come and find much water?” 5 He set to work resolutely and built up all the wall that was broken down and raised towers upon it,1 and outside it he built another wall, and he strengthened the Millo in the city of David. He also made weapons and shields in abundance. 6 And he set combat commanders over the people and gathered them together to him in the square at the gate of the city and spoke encouragingly to them, saying, 7 “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. 8 With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. Sennacherib Blasphemes 9 After this, Sennacherib king of Assyria, who was besieging Lachish with all his forces, sent his servants to Jerusalem to Hezekiah king of Judah and to all the people of Judah who were in Jerusalem, saying, 10 “Thus says Sennacherib king of Assyria, ‘On what are you trusting, that you endure the siege in Jerusalem? 11 Is not Hezekiah misleading you, that he may give you over to die by famine and by thirst, when he tells you, “The LORD our God will deliver us from the hand of the king of Assyria”? 12 Has not this same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, “Before one altar you shall worship, and on it you shall burn your sacrifices”? 13 Do you not know what I and my fathers have done to all the peoples of other lands? Were the gods of the nations of those lands at all able to deliver their lands out of my hand? 14 Who among all the gods of those nations that my fathers devoted to destruction was able to deliver his people from my hand, that your God should be able to deliver you from my hand? 15 Now, therefore, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you in this fashion, and do not believe him, for no god of any nation or kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand or from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you out of my hand!'” 16 And his servants said still more against the LORD God and against his servant Hezekiah. 17 And he wrote letters to cast contempt on the LORD, the God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, “Like the gods of the nations of the lands who have not delivered their people from my hands, so the God of Hezekiah will not deliver his people from my hand.” 18 And they shouted it with a loud voice in the language of Judah to the people of Jerusalem who were on the wall, to frighten and terrify them, in order that they might take the city. 19 And they spoke of the God of Jerusalem as they spoke of the gods of the peoples of the earth, which are the work of men's hands. The Lord Delivers Jerusalem 20 Then Hezekiah the king and Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, prayed because of this and cried to heaven. 21 And the LORD sent an angel, who cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. 22 So the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side. 23 And many brought gifts to the LORD to Jerusalem and precious things to Hezekiah king of Judah, so that he was exalted in the sight of all nations from that time onward. Hezekiah's Pride and Achievements 24 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death, and he prayed to the LORD, and he answered him and gave him a sign. 25 But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem. 26 But Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD did not come upon them in the days of Hezekiah. 27 And Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made for himself treasuries for silver, for gold, for precious stones, for spices, for shields, and for all kinds of costly vessels; 28 storehouses also for the yield of grain, wine, and oil; and stalls for all kinds of cattle, and sheepfolds. 29 He likewise provided cities for himself, and flocks and herds in abundance, for God had given him very great possessions. 30 This same Hezekiah closed the upper outlet of the waters of Gihon and directed them down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. 31 And so in the matter of the envoys of the princes of Babylon, who had been sent to him to inquire about the sign that had been done in the land, God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart. 32 Now the rest of the acts of Hezekiah and his good deeds, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, in the Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel. 33 And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the upper part of the tombs of the sons of David, and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honor at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his place. Footnotes [1] 32:5 Vulgate; Hebrew and raised upon the towers (ESV) 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 never see.'8   For this reason her plagues will come in a single day,    death and mourning and famine,  and she will be burned up with fire;    for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her.” 9 And the kings of the earth, who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. 10 They will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,   “Alas! Alas! You great city,    you mighty city, Babylon!  For in a single hour your judgment has come.” 11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, 13 cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls.2 14   “The fruit for which your soul longed    has gone from you,  and all your delicacies and your splendors    are lost to you,    never to be found again!” 15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud, 16   “Alas, alas, for the great city    that was clothed in fine linen,      in purple and scarlet,    adorned with gold,      with jewels, and with pearls!17   For in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste.” And all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off 18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,   “What city was like the great city?” 19 And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and mourned, crying out,   “Alas, alas, for the great city    where all who had ships at sea    grew rich by her wealth!  For in a single hour she has been laid waste.20   Rejoice over her, O heaven,    and you saints and apostles and prophets,  for God has given judgment for you against her!” 21 Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,   “So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence,    and will be found no more;22   and the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters,    will be heard in you no more,  and a craftsman of any craft    will be found in you no more,  and the sound of the mill    will be heard in you no more,23   and the light of a lamp    will shine in you no more,  and the voice of bridegroom and bride    will be heard in you no more,  for your merchants were the great ones of the earth,    and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.24   And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints,    and of all who have been slain on earth.” Footnotes [1] 18:3 Some manuscripts fallen by [2] 18:13 Or and slaves, and human lives (ESV) In private: Zechariah 14; John 17 Zechariah 14 (Listen) The Coming Day of the Lord 14 Behold, a day is coming for the LORD, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. 2 For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. 3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. 4 On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. 5 And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.1 6 On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost.2 7 And there shall be a unique3 day, which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. 8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea4 and half of them to the western sea.5 It shall continue in summer as in winter. 9 And the LORD will be king over all the earth. On that day the LORD will be one and his name one. 10 The whole land shall be turned into a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem. But Jerusalem shall remain aloft on its site from the Gate of Benjamin to the place of the former gate, to the Corner Gate, and from the Tower of Hananel to the king's winepresses. 11 And it shall be inhabited, for there shall never again be a decree of utter destruction.6 Jerusalem shall dwell in security. 12 And this shall be the plague with which the LORD will strike all the peoples that wage war against Jerusalem: their flesh will rot while they are still standing on their feet, their eyes will rot in their sockets, and their tongues will rot in their mouths. 13 And on that day a great panic from the LORD shall fall on them, so that each will seize the hand of another, and the hand of the one will be raised against the hand of the other. 14 Even Judah will fight at Jerusalem.7 And the wealth of all the surrounding nations shall be collected, gold, silver, and garments in great abundance. 15 And a plague like this plague shall fall on the horses, the mules, the camels, the donkeys, and whatever beasts may be in those camps. 16 Then everyone who survives of all the nations that have come against Jerusalem shall go up year after year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Booths. 17 And if any of the families of the earth do not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them. 18 And if the family of Egypt does not go up and present themselves, then on them there shall be no rain;8 there shall be the plague with which the LORD afflicts the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 19 This shall be the punishment to Egypt and the punishment to all the nations that do not go up to keep the Feast of Booths. 20 And on that day there shall be inscribed on the bells of the horses, “Holy to the LORD.” And the pots in the house of the LORD shall be as the bowls before the altar. 21 And every pot in Jerusalem and Judah shall be holy to the LORD of hosts, so that all who sacrifice may come and take of them and boil the meat of the sacrifice in them. And there shall no longer be a trader9 in the house of the LORD of hosts on that day. Footnotes [1] 14:5 Other Hebrew manuscripts you [2] 14:6 Compare Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; the meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [3] 14:7 Hebrew one [4] 14:8 That is, the Dead Sea [5] 14:8 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [6] 14:11 The Hebrew term rendered decree of utter destruction refers to things devoted (or set apart) to the Lord (or by the Lord) for destruction [7] 14:14 Or against Jerusalem [8] 14:18 Hebrew lacks rain [9] 14:21 Or Canaanite (ESV) 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 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

3 Advent First Psalm: Psalm 40; Psalm 54 Psalm 40 (Listen) My Help and My Deliverer To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. 40   I waited patiently for the LORD;    he inclined to me and heard my cry.2   He drew me up from the pit of destruction,    out of the miry bog,  and set my feet upon a rock,    making my steps secure.3   He put a new song in my mouth,    a song of praise to our God.  Many will see and fear,    and put their trust in the LORD. 4   Blessed is the man who makes    the LORD his trust,  who does not turn to the proud,    to those who go astray after a lie!5   You have multiplied, O LORD my God,    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;    none can compare with you!  I will proclaim and tell of them,    yet they are more than can be told. 6   In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,    but you have given me an open ear.1  Burnt offering and sin offering    you have not required.7   Then I said, “Behold, I have come;    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:8   I delight to do your will, O my God;    your law is within my heart.” 9   I have told the glad news of deliverance2    in the great congregation;  behold, I have not restrained my lips,    as you know, O LORD.10   I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;  I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness    from the great congregation. 11   As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain    your mercy from me;  your steadfast love and your faithfulness will    ever preserve me!12   For evils have encompassed me    beyond number;  my iniquities have overtaken me,    and I cannot see;  they are more than the hairs of my head;    my heart fails me. 13   Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me!    O LORD, make haste to help me!14   Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether    who seek to snatch away my life;  let those be turned back and brought to dishonor    who delight in my hurt!15   Let those be appalled because of their shame    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!” 16   But may all who seek you    rejoice and be glad in you;  may those who love your salvation    say continually, “Great is the LORD!”17   As for me, I am poor and needy,    but the Lord takes thought for me.  You are my help and my deliverer;    do not delay, O my God! Footnotes [1] 40:6 Hebrew ears you have dug for me [2] 40:9 Hebrew righteousness; also verse 10 (ESV) Psalm 54 (Listen) The Lord Upholds My Life To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil1 of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?” 54   O God, save me by your name,    and vindicate me by your might.2   O God, hear my prayer;    give ear to the words of my mouth. 3   For strangers2 have risen against me;    ruthless men seek my life;    they do not set God before themselves. Selah 4   Behold, God is my helper;    the Lord is the upholder of my life.5   He will return the evil to my enemies;    in your faithfulness put an end to them. 6   With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;    I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.7   For he has delivered me from every trouble,    and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies. Footnotes [1] 54:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term [2] 54:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Targum insolent men (compare Psalm 86:14) (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 51 Psalm 51 (Listen) Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. 51   Have mercy on me,1 O God,    according to your steadfast love;  according to your abundant mercy    blot out my transgressions.2   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,    and cleanse me from my sin! 3   For I know my transgressions,    and my sin is ever before me.4   Against you, you only, have I sinned    and done what is evil in your sight,  so that you may be justified in your words    and blameless in your judgment.5   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,    and in sin did my mother conceive me.6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. 7   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.8   Let me hear joy and gladness;    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.9   Hide your face from my sins,    and blot out all my iniquities.10   Create in me a clean heart, O God,    and renew a right2 spirit within me.11   Cast me not away from your presence,    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.12   Restore to me the joy of your salvation,    and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13   Then I will teach transgressors your ways,    and sinners will return to you.14   Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,    O God of my salvation,    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.15   O Lord, open my lips,    and my mouth will declare your praise.16   For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.17   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 18   Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;    build up the walls of Jerusalem;19   then will you delight in right sacrifices,    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;    then bulls will be offered on your altar. Footnotes [1] 51:1 Or Be gracious to me [2] 51:10 Or steadfast (ESV) Old Testament: Zechariah 7:8–8:8 Zechariah 7:8–8:8 (Listen) 8 And the word of the LORD came to Zechariah, saying, 9 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and mercy to one another, 10 do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor, and let none of you devise evil against another in your heart.” 11 But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear.1 12 They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the LORD of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of hosts. 13 “As I2 called, and they would not hear, so they called, and I would not hear,” says the LORD of hosts, 14 “and I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known. Thus the land they left was desolate, so that no one went to and fro, and the pleasant land was made desolate.” The Coming Peace and Prosperity of Zion 8 And the word of the LORD of hosts came, saying, 2 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: I am jealous for Zion with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath. 3 Thus says the LORD: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the LORD of hosts, the holy mountain. 4 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Old men and old women shall again sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each with staff in hand because of great age. 5 And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets. 6 Thus says the LORD of hosts: If it is marvelous in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, should it also be marvelous in my sight, declares the LORD of hosts? 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: Behold, I will save my people from the east country and from the west country, 8 and I will bring them to dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God, in faithfulness and in righteousness.” Footnotes [1] 7:11 Hebrew and made their ears too heavy to hear [2] 7:13 Hebrew he (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 5:6–14 Revelation 5:6–14 (Listen) 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) Gospel: Matthew 25:14–30 Matthew 25:14–30 (Listen) The Parable of the Talents 14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants1 and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents,2 to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.' 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.3 You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.' 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.' 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.' 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. 29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' Footnotes [1] 25:14 Or bondservants; also verse 19 [2] 25:15 A talent was a monetary unit worth about twenty years' wages for a laborer [3] 25:21 Or bondservant; also verses 23, 26, 30 (ESV)

3 Advent First Psalm: Psalm 119:49–72 Psalm 119:49–72 (Listen) 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. (ESV) Second Psalm: Psalm 49; Psalm 53 Psalm 49 (Listen) Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble? To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. 49   Hear this, all peoples!    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,2   both low and high,    rich and poor together!3   My mouth shall speak wisdom;    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.4   I will incline my ear to a proverb;    I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre. 5   Why should I fear in times of trouble,    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,6   those who trust in their wealth    and boast of the abundance of their riches?7   Truly no man can ransom another,    or give to God the price of his life,8   for the ransom of their life is costly    and can never suffice,9   that he should live on forever    and never see the pit. 10   For he sees that even the wise die;    the fool and the stupid alike must perish    and leave their wealth to others.11   Their graves are their homes forever,1    their dwelling places to all generations,    though they called lands by their own names.12   Man in his pomp will not remain;    he is like the beasts that perish. 13   This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;    yet after them people approve of their boasts.2 Selah14   Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;    death shall be their shepherd,  and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.    Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.15   But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,    for he will receive me. Selah 16   Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,    when the glory of his house increases.17   For when he dies he will carry nothing away;    his glory will not go down after him.18   For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—19   his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,    who will never again see light.20   Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish. Footnotes [1] 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever [2] 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts (ESV) Psalm 53 (Listen) There Is None Who Does Good To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil1 of David. 53   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;    there is none who does good. 2   God looks down from heaven    on the children of man  to see if there are any who understand,2    who seek after God. 3   They have all fallen away;    together they have become corrupt;  there is none who does good,    not even one. 4   Have those who work evil no knowledge,    who eat up my people as they eat bread,    and do not call upon God? 5   There they are, in great terror,    where there is no terror!  For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;    you put them to shame, for God has rejected them. 6   Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!    When God restores the fortunes of his people,    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad. Footnotes [1] 53:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms [2] 53:2 Or who act wisely (ESV) Old Testament: Zechariah 3 Zechariah 3 (Listen) A Vision of Joshua the High Priest 3 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan1 standing at his right hand to accuse him. 2 And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand2 plucked from the fire?” 3 Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments. 4 And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.” 5 And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by. 6 And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua, 7 “Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8 Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch. 9 For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes,3 I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day. 10 In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.” Footnotes [1] 3:1 Hebrew the Accuser or the Adversary [2] 3:2 That is, a burning stick [3] 3:9 Or facets (ESV) New Testament: Revelation 4:1–8 Revelation 4:1–8 (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!” Footnotes [1] 4:5 Or voices, or sounds (ESV) Gospel: Matthew 24:45–51 Matthew 24:45–51 (Listen) 45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant,1 whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time? 46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 47 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 48 But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,' 49 and begins to beat his fellow servants2 and eats and drinks with drunkards, 50 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know 51 and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Footnotes [1] 24:45 Or bondservant; also verses 46, 48, 50 [2] 24:49 Or bondservants (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)

Old Testament: Ezekiel 47–48 Ezekiel 47–48 (Listen) Water Flowing from the Temple 47 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. 3 Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits,1 and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 5 Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea;2 when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.3 9 And wherever the river goes,4 every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea5 may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.6 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” Division of the Land 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: “This is the boundary7 by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. 14 And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance. 15 “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad,8 16 Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.9 This shall be the north side.10 18 “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar.11 This shall be the east side. 19 “On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt12 to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side. 20 “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side. 21 “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD. 48 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending13 from the east side to the west,14 Dan, one portion. 2 Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. 3 Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. 4 Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. 5 Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. 6 Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. 7 Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion. 8 “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits15 in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it. 9 The portion that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,00016 in breadth. 10 These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the LORD in the midst of it. 11 This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. 12 And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13 And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.17 14 They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the LORD. 15 “The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city, 16 and these shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. 17 And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. 18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. 20 The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city. 21 “What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. 22 It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin. 23 “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. 24 Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. 25 Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. 26 Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. 27 Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. 28 And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt18 to the Great Sea.19 29 This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord GOD. The Gates of the City 30 “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, 31 three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. 32 On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33 On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates,20 the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35 The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.” Footnotes [1] 47:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 47:8 That is, the Dead Sea [3] 47:8 Hebrew will be healed; also verses 9, 11 [4] 47:9 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; Hebrew the two rivers go [5] 47:9 Hebrew lacks the waters of the sea [6] 47:10 That is, the Mediterranean Sea; also verses 15, 19, 20 [7] 47:13 Probable reading; Hebrew The valley of the boundary [8] 47:15 Septuagint; Hebrew the entrance of Zedad, Hamath [9] 47:17 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [10] 47:17 Probable reading; Hebrew and as for the north side [11] 47:18 Compare Syriac; Hebrew to the eastern sea you shall measure [12] 47:19 Hebrew lacks of Egypt [13] 48:1 Probable reading; Hebrew and they shall be his [14] 48:1 Septuagint (compare verses 2–8); Hebrew the east side the west [15] 48:8 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [16] 48:9 Compare 45:1; Hebrew 10,000 [17] 48:13 Septuagint; Hebrew 10,000 [18] 48:28 Hebrew lacks of Egypt [19] 48:28 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [20] 48:34 One Hebrew manuscript, Syriac (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts their gates three (ESV) Psalm: 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) New Testament: Hebrews 4–6 Hebrews 4–6 (Listen) 4 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. 2 For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.1 3 For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said,   “As I swore in my wrath,  ‘They shall not enter my rest,'” although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” 5 And again in this passage he said,   “They shall not enter my rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, 7 again he appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted,   “Today, if you hear his voice,  do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, God2 would not have spoken of another day later on. 9 So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, 10 for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. 11 Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. Jesus the Great High Priest 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. 5 For every high priest chosen from among men is appointed to act on behalf of men in relation to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. 2 He can deal gently with the ignorant and wayward, since he himself is beset with weakness. 3 Because of this he is obligated to offer sacrifice for his own sins just as he does for those of the people. 4 And no one takes this honor for himself, but only when called by God, just as Aaron was. 5 So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,   “You are my Son,    today I have begotten you”; 6 as he says also in another place,   “You are a priest forever,    after the order of Melchizedek.” 7 In the days of his flesh, Jesus3 offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to him who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. 8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. 9 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, 10 being designated by God a high priest after the order of Melchizedek. Warning Against Apostasy 11 About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, 13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. 14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil. 6 Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, 2 and of instruction about washings,4 the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And this we will do if God permits. 4 For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. 7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. 8 But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned. 9 Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. 10 For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. 11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. The Certainty of God's Promise 13 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he had no one greater by whom to swear, he swore by himself, 14 saying, “Surely I will bless you and multiply you.” 15 And thus Abraham,5 having patiently waited, obtained the promise. 16 For people swear by something greater than themselves, and in all their disputes an oath is final for confirmation. 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. 19 We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Footnotes [1] 4:2 Some manuscripts it did not meet with faith in the hearers [2] 4:8 Greek he [3] 5:7 Greek he [4] 6:2 Or baptisms (that is, cleansing rites) [5] 6:15 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   

Morning: Ezekiel 47–48 Ezekiel 47–48 (Listen) Water Flowing from the Temple 47 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. 3 Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits,1 and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 5 Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea;2 when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.3 9 And wherever the river goes,4 every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea5 may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.6 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” Division of the Land 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: “This is the boundary7 by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. 14 And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance. 15 “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad,8 16 Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.9 This shall be the north side.10 18 “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar.11 This shall be the east side. 19 “On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt12 to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side. 20 “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side. 21 “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD. 48 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside the way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, as far as Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of Damascus over against Hamath), and extending13 from the east side to the west,14 Dan, one portion. 2 Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, Asher, one portion. 3 Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, Naphtali, one portion. 4 Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. 5 Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. 6 Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. 7 Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion. 8 “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits15 in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with the sanctuary in the midst of it. 9 The portion that you shall set apart for the LORD shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,00016 in breadth. 10 These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the LORD in the midst of it. 11 This shall be for the consecrated priests, the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, as the Levites did. 12 And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. 13 And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.17 14 They shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the LORD. 15 “The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be for common use for the city, for dwellings and for open country. In the midst of it shall be the city, 16 and these shall be its measurements: the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. 17 And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. 18 The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. 19 And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. 20 The whole portion that you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city. 21 “What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. 22 It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin. 23 “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. 24 Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. 25 Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. 26 Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. 27 Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. 28 And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run from Tamar to the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt18 to the Great Sea.19 29 This is the land that you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord GOD. The Gates of the City 30 “These shall be the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, 31 three gates, the gate of Reuben, the gate of Judah, and the gate of Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. 32 On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. 33 On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. 34 On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates,20 the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. 35 The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on shall be, The LORD Is There.” Footnotes [1] 47:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 47:8 That is, the Dead Sea [3] 47:8 Hebrew will be healed; also verses 9, 11 [4] 47:9 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; Hebrew the two rivers go [5] 47:9 Hebrew lacks the waters of the sea [6] 47:10 That is, the Mediterranean Sea; also verses 15, 19, 20 [7] 47:13 Probable reading; Hebrew The valley of the boundary [8] 47:15 Septuagint; Hebrew the entrance of Zedad, Hamath [9] 47:17 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [10] 47:17 Probable reading; Hebrew and as for the north side [11] 47:18 Compare Syriac; Hebrew to the eastern sea you shall measure [12] 47:19 Hebrew lacks of Egypt [13] 48:1 Probable reading; Hebrew and they shall be his [14] 48:1 Septuagint (compare verses 2–8); Hebrew the east side the west [15] 48:8 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [16] 48:9 Compare 45:1; Hebrew 10,000 [17] 48:13 Septuagint; Hebrew 10,000 [18] 48:28 Hebrew lacks of Egypt [19] 48:28 That is, the Mediterranean Sea [20] 48:34 One Hebrew manuscript, Syriac (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts their gates three (ESV) Evening: 1 John 1 1 John 1 (Listen) The Word of Life 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our1 joy may be complete. Walking in the Light 5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. Footnotes [1] 1:4 Some manuscripts your (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]

Old Testament: Ezekiel 21–22 Ezekiel 21–22 (Listen) The Lord Has Drawn His Sword 21 1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuaries.2 Prophesy against the land of Israel 3 and say to the land of Israel, Thus says the LORD: Behold, I am against you and will draw my sword from its sheath and will cut off from you both righteous and wicked. 4 Because I will cut off from you both righteous and wicked, therefore my sword shall be drawn from its sheath against all flesh from south to north. 5 And all flesh shall know that I am the LORD. I have drawn my sword from its sheath; it shall not be sheathed again. 6 “As for you, son of man, groan; with breaking heart and bitter grief, groan before their eyes. 7 And when they say to you, ‘Why do you groan?' you shall say, ‘Because of the news that it is coming. Every heart will melt, and all hands will be feeble; every spirit will faint, and all knees will be weak as water. Behold, it is coming, and it will be fulfilled,'” declares the Lord GOD. 8 And the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say:   “A sword, a sword is sharpened    and also polished,10   sharpened for slaughter,    polished to flash like lightning! (Or shall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, with everything of wood.)3 11 So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished to be given into the hand of the slayer. 12 Cry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. Strike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise the rod?”4 declares the Lord GOD. 14 “As for you, son of man, prophesy. Clap your hands and let the sword come down twice, yes, three times,5 the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, 15 that their hearts may melt, and many stumble.6 At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; it is taken up7 for slaughter. 16 Cut sharply to the right; set yourself to the left, wherever your face is directed. 17 I also will clap my hands, and I will satisfy my fury; I the LORD have spoken.” 18 The word of the LORD came to me again: 19 “As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city. 20 Mark a way for the sword to come to Rabbah of the Ammonites and to Judah, into Jerusalem the fortified. 21 For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the way, at the head of the two ways, to use divination. He shakes the arrows; he consults the teraphim;8 he looks at the liver. 22 Into his right hand comes the divination for Jerusalem, to set battering rams, to open the mouth with murder, to lift up the voice with shouting, to set battering rams against the gates, to cast up mounds, to build siege towers. 23 But to them it will seem like a false divination. They have sworn solemn oaths, but he brings their guilt to remembrance, that they may be taken. 24 “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have made your guilt to be remembered, in that your transgressions are uncovered, so that in all your deeds your sins appear—because you have come to remembrance, you shall be taken in hand. 25 And you, O profane9 wicked one, prince of Israel, whose day has come, the time of your final punishment, 26 thus says the Lord GOD: Remove the turban and take off the crown. Things shall not remain as they are. Exalt that which is low, and bring low that which is exalted. 27 A ruin, ruin, ruin I will make it. This also shall not be, until he comes, the one to whom judgment belongs, and I will give it to him. 28 “And you, son of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord GOD concerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, A sword, a sword is drawn for the slaughter. It is polished to consume and to flash like lightning—29 while they see for you false visions, while they divine lies for you—to place you on the necks of the profane wicked, whose day has come, the time of their final punishment. 30 Return it to its sheath. In the place where you were created, in the land of your origin, I will judge you. 31 And I will pour out my indignation upon you; I will blow upon you with the fire of my wrath, and I will deliver you into the hands of brutish men, skillful to destroy. 32 You shall be fuel for the fire. Your blood shall be in the midst of the land. You shall be no more remembered, for I the LORD have spoken.” Israel's Shedding of Blood 22 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. 3 You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! 4 You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of10 your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. 5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult. 6 “Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. 8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9 There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. 10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. 11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit11 and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD. 13 “Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. 14 Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. 16 And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 17 And the word of the LORD came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have poured out my wrath upon you.” 23 And the word of the LORD came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. 25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. 30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. 31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD.” Footnotes [1] 21:1 Ch 21:6 in Hebrew [2] 21:2 Some Hebrew manuscripts, compare Septuagint, Syriac against their sanctuary [3] 21:10 Probable reading; Hebrew The rod of my son despises everything of wood [4] 21:13 Or For it is a testing; and what if even the rod despises? It shall not be! [5] 21:14 Hebrew its third [6] 21:15 Hebrew many stumbling blocks [7] 21:15 The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered taken up is uncertain [8] 21:21 Or household idols [9] 21:25 Or slain; also verse 29 [10] 22:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts until [11] 22:12 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor (compare Leviticus 25:36) (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 119:145–152 Psalm 119:145–152 (Listen) 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. (ESV) New Testament: Colossians 3–4 Colossians 3–4 (Listen) Put On the New Self 3 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your1 life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:2 sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming.3 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self4 with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,5 free; but Christ is all, and in all. 12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Rules for Christian Households 18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them. 20 Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged. 22 Bondservants, obey in everything those who are your earthly masters,6 not by way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord. 23 Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, 24 knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 25 For the wrongdoer will be paid back for the wrong he has done, and there is no partiality. 4 Masters, treat your bondservants7 justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Further Instructions 2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Final Greetings 7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant8 in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers9 at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Footnotes [1] 3:4 Some manuscripts our [2] 3:5 Greek therefore your members that are on the earth [3] 3:6 Some manuscripts add upon the sons of disobedience [4] 3:9 Greek man; also as supplied in verse 10 [5] 3:11 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for Bondservants in verse 22 [6] 3:22 Or your masters according to the flesh [7] 4:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for servant in verse 12 [8] 4:7 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word sundoulos, see Preface [9] 4:15 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

Old Testament: Ezekiel 17–18 Ezekiel 17–18 (Listen) Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine 17 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil.1 He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs. 7 “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine. 9 “Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?” 11 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 And he took one of the royal offspring2 and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape? 16 “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick3 of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken.” 22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.” The Soul Who Sins Shall Die 18 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “What do you4 mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. 5 “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right—6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8 does not lend at interest or take any profit,5 withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, 9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord GOD. 10 “If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, 13 lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself. 14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity,6 takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity. 19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?' When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. 21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die. 25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.7 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.” Footnotes [1] 17:5 Hebrew in a field of seed [2] 17:13 Hebrew seed [3] 17:21 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts all the fugitives [4] 18:2 The Hebrew for you is plural [5] 18:8 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor; also verses 13, 17 (compare Leviticus 25:36) [6] 18:17 Septuagint; Hebrew from the poor [7] 18:30 Or lest iniquity be your stumbling block (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 119:129–136 Psalm 119:129–136 (Listen) 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. (ESV) New Testament: Philippians 3–4 Philippians 3–4 (Listen) Righteousness Through Faith in Christ 3 Finally, my brothers,1 rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. 2 Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. 3 For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God2 and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law,3 blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Straining Toward the Goal 12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 17 Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. 18 For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. 4 Therefore, my brothers,4 whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer 2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I ask you also, true companion,5 help these women, who have labored6 side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness7 be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned8 and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. God's Provision 10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was kind of you to share9 my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.10 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen. Final Greetings 21 Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. 22 All the saints greet you, especially those of Caesar's household. 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Footnotes [1] 3:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 13, 17 [2] 3:3 Some manuscripts God in spirit [3] 3:6 Greek in the law [4] 4:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 8, 21 [5] 4:3 Or loyal Syzygus; Greek true yokefellow [6] 4:3 Or strived (see 1:27) [7] 4:5 Or gentleness [8] 4:9 Or these things— 9which things you have also learned [9] 4:14 Or have fellowship in [10] 4:17 Or I seek the profit that accrues to your account (ESV)

Morning: Ezekiel 22–23 Ezekiel 22–23 (Listen) Israel's Shedding of Blood 22 And the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2 “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then declare to her all her abominations. 3 You shall say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A city that sheds blood in her midst, so that her time may come, and that makes idols to defile herself! 4 You have become guilty by the blood that you have shed, and defiled by the idols that you have made, and you have brought your days near, the appointed time of1 your years has come. Therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all the countries. 5 Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you; your name is defiled; you are full of tumult. 6 “Behold, the princes of Israel in you, every one according to his power, have been bent on shedding blood. 7 Father and mother are treated with contempt in you; the sojourner suffers extortion in your midst; the fatherless and the widow are wronged in you. 8 You have despised my holy things and profaned my Sabbaths. 9 There are men in you who slander to shed blood, and people in you who eat on the mountains; they commit lewdness in your midst. 10 In you men uncover their fathers' nakedness; in you they violate women who are unclean in their menstrual impurity. 11 One commits abomination with his neighbor's wife; another lewdly defiles his daughter-in-law; another in you violates his sister, his father's daughter. 12 In you they take bribes to shed blood; you take interest and profit2 and make gain of your neighbors by extortion; but me you have forgotten, declares the Lord GOD. 13 “Behold, I strike my hand at the dishonest gain that you have made, and at the blood that has been in your midst. 14 Can your courage endure, or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the LORD have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I will scatter you among the nations and disperse you through the countries, and I will consume your uncleanness out of you. 16 And you shall be profaned by your own doing in the sight of the nations, and you shall know that I am the LORD.” 17 And the word of the LORD came to me: 18 “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are dross of silver. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have all become dross, therefore, behold, I will gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. 20 As one gathers silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into a furnace, to blow the fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath, and I will put you in and melt you. 21 I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of my wrath, and you shall be melted in the midst of it. 22 As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have poured out my wrath upon you.” 23 And the word of the LORD came to me: 24 “Son of man, say to her, You are a land that is not cleansed or rained upon in the day of indignation. 25 The conspiracy of her prophets in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing the prey; they have devoured human lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in her midst. 26 Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they taught the difference between the unclean and the clean, and they have disregarded my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in her midst are like wolves tearing the prey, shedding blood, destroying lives to get dishonest gain. 28 And her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD,' when the LORD has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have practiced extortion and committed robbery. They have oppressed the poor and needy, and have extorted from the sojourner without justice. 30 And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none. 31 Therefore I have poured out my indignation upon them. I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath. I have returned their way upon their heads, declares the Lord GOD.” Oholah and Oholibah 23 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, there were two women, the daughters of one mother. 3 They played the whore in Egypt; they played the whore in their youth; there their breasts were pressed and their virgin bosoms3 handled. 4 Oholah was the name of the elder and Oholibah the name of her sister. They became mine, and they bore sons and daughters. As for their names, Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem. 5 “Oholah played the whore while she was mine, and she lusted after her lovers the Assyrians, warriors 6 clothed in purple, governors and commanders, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses. 7 She bestowed her whoring upon them, the choicest men of Assyria all of them, and she defiled herself with all the idols of everyone after whom she lusted. 8 She did not give up her whoring that she had begun in Egypt; for in her youth men had lain with her and handled her virgin bosom and poured out their whoring lust upon her. 9 Therefore I delivered her into the hands of her lovers, into the hands of the Assyrians, after whom she lusted. 10 These uncovered her nakedness; they seized her sons and her daughters; and as for her, they killed her with the sword; and she became a byword among women, when judgment had been executed on her. 11 “Her sister Oholibah saw this, and she became more corrupt than her sister4 in her lust and in her whoring, which was worse than that of her sister. 12 She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and commanders, warriors clothed in full armor, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men. 13 And I saw that she was defiled; they both took the same way. 14 But she carried her whoring further. She saw men portrayed on the wall, the images of the Chaldeans portrayed in vermilion, 15 wearing belts on their waists, with flowing turbans on their heads, all of them having the appearance of officers, a likeness of Babylonians whose native land was Chaldea. 16 When she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers to them in Chaldea. 17 And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their whoring lust. And after she was defiled by them, she turned from them in disgust. 18 When she carried on her whoring so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned in disgust from her sister. 19 Yet she increased her whoring, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the whore in the land of Egypt 20 and lusted after her lovers there, whose members were like those of donkeys, and whose issue was like that of horses. 21 Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed5 your young breasts.” 22 Therefore, O Oholibah, thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will stir up against you your lovers from whom you turned in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side: 23 the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, desirable young men, governors and commanders all of them, officers and men of renown, all of them riding on horses. 24 And they shall come against you from the north6 with chariots and wagons and a host of peoples. They shall set themselves against you on every side with buckler, shield, and helmet; and I will commit the judgment to them, and they shall judge you according to their judgments. 25 And I will direct my jealousy against you, that they may deal with you in fury. They shall cut off your nose and your ears, and your survivors shall fall by the sword. They shall seize your sons and your daughters, and your survivors shall be devoured by fire. 26 They shall also strip you of your clothes and take away your beautiful jewels. 27 Thus I will put an end to your lewdness and your whoring begun in the land of Egypt, so that you shall not lift up your eyes to them or remember Egypt anymore. 28 “For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I will deliver you into the hands of those whom you hate, into the hands of those from whom you turned in disgust, 29 and they shall deal with you in hatred and take away all the fruit of your labor and leave you naked and bare, and the nakedness of your whoring shall be uncovered. Your lewdness and your whoring 30 have brought this upon you, because you played the whore with the nations and defiled yourself with their idols. 31 You have gone the way of your sister; therefore I will give her cup into your hand. 32 Thus says the Lord GOD:   “You shall drink your sister's cup    that is deep and large;  you shall be laughed at and held in derision,    for it contains much;33   you will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow.  A cup of horror and desolation,    the cup of your sister Samaria;34   you shall drink it and drain it out,    and gnaw its shards,    and tear your breasts; for I have spoken, declares the Lord GOD. 35 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you have forgotten me and cast me behind your back, you yourself must bear the consequences of your lewdness and whoring.” 36 The LORD said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Declare to them their abominations. 37 For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. With their idols they have committed adultery, and they have even offered up7 to them for food the children whom they had borne to me. 38 Moreover, this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary on the same day and profaned my Sabbaths. 39 For when they had slaughtered their children in sacrifice to their idols, on the same day they came into my sanctuary to profane it. And behold, this is what they did in my house. 40 They even sent for men to come from afar, to whom a messenger was sent; and behold, they came. For them you bathed yourself, painted your eyes, and adorned yourself with ornaments. 41 You sat on a stately couch, with a table spread before it on which you had placed my incense and my oil. 42 The sound of a carefree multitude was with her; and with men of the common sort, drunkards8 were brought from the wilderness; and they put bracelets on the hands of the women, and beautiful crowns on their heads. 43 “Then I said of her who was worn out by adultery, ‘Now they will continue to use her for a whore, even her!'9 44 For they have gone in to her, as men go in to a prostitute. Thus they went in to Oholah and to Oholibah, lewd women! 45 But righteous men shall pass judgment on them with the sentence of adulteresses, and with the sentence of women who shed blood, because they are adulteresses, and blood is on their hands.” 46 For thus says the Lord GOD: “Bring up a vast host against them, and make them an object of terror and a plunder. 47 And the host shall stone them and cut them down with their swords. They shall kill their sons and their daughters, and burn up their houses. 48 Thus will I put an end to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not commit lewdness as you have done. 49 And they shall return your lewdness upon you, and you shall bear the penalty for your sinful idolatry, and you shall know that I am the Lord GOD.” Footnotes [1] 22:4 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts until [2] 22:12 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor (compare Leviticus 25:36) [3] 23:3 Hebrew nipples; also verses 8, 21 [4] 23:11 Hebrew than she [5] 23:21 Vulgate, Syriac; Hebrew bosom for the sake of [6] 23:24 Septuagint; the meaning of the Hebrew word is unknown [7] 23:37 Or have even made pass through the fire [8] 23:42 Or Sabeans [9] 23:43 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain (ESV) Evening: James 2 James 2 (Listen) The Sin of Partiality 2 My brothers,1 show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. 2 For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, 3 and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” 4 have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? 7 Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. 9 But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. 11 For he who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13 For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. Faith Without Works Is Dead 14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good2 is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead. Footnotes [1] 2:1 Or brothers and sisters; also verses 5, 14 [2] 2:16 Or benefit (ESV)

Old Testament: Ezekiel 7–9 Ezekiel 7–9 (Listen) The Day of the Wrath of the Lord 7 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “And you, O son of man, thus says the Lord GOD to the land of Israel: An end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land.1 3 Now the end is upon you, and I will send my anger upon you; I will judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 4 And my eye will not spare you, nor will I have pity, but I will punish you for your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 5 “Thus says the Lord GOD: Disaster after disaster!2 Behold, it comes. 6 An end has come; the end has come; it has awakened against you. Behold, it comes. 7 Your doom3 has come to you, O inhabitant of the land. The time has come; the day is near, a day of tumult, and not of joyful shouting on the mountains. 8 Now I will soon pour out my wrath upon you, and spend my anger against you, and judge you according to your ways, and I will punish you for all your abominations. 9 And my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. I will punish you according to your ways, while your abominations are in your midst. Then you will know that I am the LORD, who strikes. 10 “Behold, the day! Behold, it comes! Your doom has come; the rod has blossomed; pride has budded. 11 Violence has grown up into a rod of wickedness. None of them shall remain, nor their abundance, nor their wealth; neither shall there be preeminence among them.4 12 The time has come; the day has arrived. Let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn, for wrath is upon all their multitude.5 13 For the seller shall not return to what he has sold, while they live. For the vision concerns all their multitude; it shall not turn back; and because of his iniquity, none can maintain his life.6 14 “They have blown the trumpet and made everything ready, but none goes to battle, for my wrath is upon all their multitude. 15 The sword is without; pestilence and famine are within. He who is in the field dies by the sword, and him who is in the city famine and pestilence devour. 16 And if any survivors escape, they will be on the mountains, like doves of the valleys, all of them moaning, each one over his iniquity. 17 All hands are feeble, and all knees turn to water. 18 They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads. 19 They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniquity. 20 His beautiful ornament they used for pride, and they made their abominable images and their detestable things of it. Therefore I make it an unclean thing to them. 21 And I will give it into the hands of foreigners for prey, and to the wicked of the earth for spoil, and they shall profane it. 22 I will turn my face from them, and they shall profane my treasured7 place. Robbers shall enter and profane it. 23 “Forge a chain!8 For the land is full of bloody crimes and the city is full of violence. 24 I will bring the worst of the nations to take possession of their houses. I will put an end to the pride of the strong, and their holy places9 shall be profaned. 25 When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there shall be none. 26 Disaster comes upon disaster; rumor follows rumor. They seek a vision from the prophet, while the law10 perishes from the priest and counsel from the elders. 27 The king mourns, the prince is wrapped in despair, and the hands of the people of the land are paralyzed by terror. According to their way I will do to them, and according to their judgments I will judge them, and they shall know that I am the LORD.” Abominations in the Temple 8 In the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house, with the elders of Judah sitting before me, the hand of the Lord GOD fell upon me there. 2 Then I looked, and behold, a form that had the appearance of a man.11 Below what appeared to be his waist was fire, and above his waist was something like the appearance of brightness, like gleaming metal.12 3 He put out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my head, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the gateway of the inner court that faces north, where was the seat of the image of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy. 4 And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the valley. 5 Then he said to me, “Son of man, lift up your eyes now toward the north.” So I lifted up my eyes toward the north, and behold, north of the altar gate, in the entrance, was this image of jealousy. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel are committing here, to drive me far from my sanctuary? But you will see still greater abominations.” 7 And he brought me to the entrance of the court, and when I looked, behold, there was a hole in the wall. 8 Then he said to me, “Son of man, dig in the wall.” So I dug in the wall, and behold, there was an entrance. 9 And he said to me, “Go in, and see the vile abominations that they are committing here.” 10 So I went in and saw. And there, engraved on the wall all around, was every form of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel. 11 And before them stood seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them. Each had his censer in his hand, and the smoke of the cloud of incense went up. 12 Then he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel are doing in the dark, each in his room of pictures? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us, the LORD has forsaken the land.'” 13 He said also to me, “You will see still greater abominations that they commit.” 14 Then he brought me to the entrance of the north gate of the house of the LORD, and behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz. 15 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? You will see still greater abominations than these.” 16 And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the LORD. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger? Behold, they put the branch to their13 nose. 18 Therefore I will act in wrath. My eye will not spare, nor will I have pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them.” Idolaters Killed 9 Then he cried in my ears with a loud voice, saying, “Bring near the executioners of the city, each with his destroying weapon in his hand.” 2 And behold, six men came from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with his weapon for slaughter in his hand, and with them was a man clothed in linen, with a writing case at his waist. And they went in and stood beside the bronze altar. 3 Now the glory of the God of Israel had gone up from the cherub on which it rested to the threshold of the house. And he called to the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his waist. 4 And the LORD said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” 5 And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. 6 Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. 7 Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. 8 And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah, Lord GOD! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?” 9 Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.' 10 As for me, my eye will not spare, nor will I have pity; I will bring their deeds upon their heads.” 11 And behold, the man clothed in linen, with the writing case at his waist, brought back word, saying, “I have done as you commanded me.” Footnotes [1] 7:2 Or earth [2] 7:5 Some Hebrew manuscripts (compare Syriac, Targum); most Hebrew manuscripts Disaster! A unique disaster! [3] 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain; also verse 10 [4] 7:11 The meaning of this last Hebrew sentence is uncertain [5] 7:12 Or abundance; also verses 13, 14 [6] 7:13 The meaning of this last Hebrew sentence is uncertain [7] 7:22 Or secret [8] 7:23 Probably refers to an instrument of captivity [9] 7:24 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew and those who sanctify them [10] 7:26 Or instruction [11] 8:2 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew of fire [12] 8:2 Or amber [13] 8:17 Or my (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 119:89–96 Psalm 119:89–96 (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. (ESV) New Testament: Ephesians 1 Ephesians 1 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful1 in Christ Jesus: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritual Blessings in Christ 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us2 for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known3 to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee4 of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it,5 to the praise of his glory. Thanksgiving and Prayer 15 For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love6 toward all the saints, 16 I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, 18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might 20 that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. Footnotes [1] 1:1 Some manuscripts saints who are also faithful (omitting in Ephesus) [2] 1:5 Or before him in love, 5having predestined us [3] 1:9 Or he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known . . . [4] 1:14 Or down payment [5] 1:14 Or until God redeems his possession [6] 1:15 Some manuscripts omit your love (ESV)

Old Testament: Ezekiel 4–6 Ezekiel 4–6 (Listen) The Siege of Jerusalem Symbolized 4 “And you, son of man, take a brick and lay it before you, and engrave on it a city, even Jerusalem. 2 And put siegeworks against it, and build a siege wall against it, and cast up a mound against it. Set camps also against it, and plant battering rams against it all around. 3 And you, take an iron griddle, and place it as an iron wall between you and the city; and set your face toward it, and let it be in a state of siege, and press the siege against it. This is a sign for the house of Israel. 4 “Then lie on your left side, and place the punishment1 of the house of Israel upon it. For the number of the days that you lie on it, you shall bear their punishment. 5 For I assign to you a number of days, 390 days, equal to the number of the years of their punishment. So long shall you bear the punishment of the house of Israel. 6 And when you have completed these, you shall lie down a second time, but on your right side, and bear the punishment of the house of Judah. Forty days I assign you, a day for each year. 7 And you shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm bared, and you shall prophesy against the city. 8 And behold, I will place cords upon you, so that you cannot turn from one side to the other, till you have completed the days of your siege. 9 “And you, take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and emmer,2 and put them into a single vessel and make your bread from them. During the number of days that you lie on your side, 390 days, you shall eat it. 10 And your food that you eat shall be by weight, twenty shekels3 a day; from day to day4 you shall eat it. 11 And water you shall drink by measure, the sixth part of a hin;5 from day to day you shall drink. 12 And you shall eat it as a barley cake, baking it in their sight on human dung.” 13 And the LORD said, “Thus shall the people of Israel eat their bread unclean, among the nations where I will drive them.” 14 Then I said, “Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I have never defiled myself.6 From my youth up till now I have never eaten what died of itself or was torn by beasts, nor has tainted meat come into my mouth.” 15 Then he said to me, “See, I assign to you cow's dung instead of human dung, on which you may prepare your bread.” 16 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, behold, I will break the supply7 of bread in Jerusalem. They shall eat bread by weight and with anxiety, and they shall drink water by measure and in dismay. 17 I will do this that they may lack bread and water, and look at one another in dismay, and rot away because of their punishment. Jerusalem Will Be Destroyed 5 “And you, O son of man, take a sharp sword. Use it as a barber's razor and pass it over your head and your beard. Then take balances for weighing and divide the hair. 2 A third part you shall burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when the days of the siege are completed. And a third part you shall take and strike with the sword all around the city. And a third part you shall scatter to the wind, and I will unsheathe the sword after them. 3 And you shall take from these a small number and bind them in the skirts of your robe. 4 And of these again you shall take some and cast them into the midst of the fire and burn them in the fire. From there a fire will come out into all the house of Israel. 5 “Thus says the Lord GOD: This is Jerusalem. I have set her in the center of the nations, with countries all around her. 6 And she has rebelled against my rules by doing wickedness more than the nations, and against my statutes more than the countries all around her; for they have rejected my rules and have not walked in my statutes. 7 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Because you are more turbulent than the nations that are all around you, and have not walked in my statutes or obeyed my rules, and have not8 even acted according to the rules of the nations that are all around you, 8 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, even I, am against you. And I will execute judgments9 in your midst in the sight of the nations. 9 And because of all your abominations I will do with you what I have never yet done, and the like of which I will never do again. 10 Therefore fathers shall eat their sons in your midst, and sons shall eat their fathers. And I will execute judgments on you, and any of you who survive I will scatter to all the winds. 11 Therefore, as I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely, because you have defiled my sanctuary with all your detestable things and with all your abominations, therefore I will withdraw.10 My eye will not spare, and I will have no pity. 12 A third part of you shall die of pestilence and be consumed with famine in your midst; a third part shall fall by the sword all around you; and a third part I will scatter to all the winds and will unsheathe the sword after them. 13 “Thus shall my anger spend itself, and I will vent my fury upon them and satisfy myself. And they shall know that I am the LORD—that I have spoken in my jealousy—when I spend my fury upon them. 14 Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by. 15 You shall be11 a reproach and a taunt, a warning and a horror, to the nations all around you, when I execute judgments on you in anger and fury, and with furious rebukes—I am the LORD; I have spoken—16 when I send against you12 the deadly arrows of famine, arrows for destruction, which I will send to destroy you, and when I bring more and more famine upon you and break your supply13 of bread. 17 I will send famine and wild beasts against you, and they will rob you of your children. Pestilence and blood shall pass through you, and I will bring the sword upon you. I am the LORD; I have spoken.” Judgment Against Idolatry 6 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face toward the mountains of Israel, and prophesy against them, 3 and say, You mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! Thus says the Lord GOD to the mountains and the hills, to the ravines and the valleys: Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. 4 Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. 5 And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. 6 Wherever you dwell, the cities shall be waste and the high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined,14 your idols broken and destroyed, your incense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. 7 And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the LORD. 8 “Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, 9 then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. 10 And they shall know that I am the LORD. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.” 11 Thus says the Lord GOD: “Clap your hands and stamp your foot and say, Alas, because of all the evil abominations of the house of Israel, for they shall fall by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. 12 He who is far off shall die of pestilence, and he who is near shall fall by the sword, and he who is left and is preserved shall die of famine. Thus I will spend my fury upon them. 13 And you shall know that I am the LORD, when their slain lie among their idols around their altars, on every high hill, on all the mountaintops, under every green tree, and under every leafy oak, wherever they offered pleasing aroma to all their idols. 14 And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land desolate and waste, in all their dwelling places, from the wilderness to Riblah.15 Then they will know that I am the LORD.” Footnotes [1] 4:4 Or iniquity; also verses 5, 6, 17 [2] 4:9 A type of wheat [3] 4:10 A shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams [4] 4:10 Or at a set time daily; also verse 11 [5] 4:11 A hin was about 4 quarts or 3.5 liters [6] 4:14 Hebrew my soul (or throat) has never been made unclean [7] 4:16 Hebrew staff [8] 5:7 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac lack not [9] 5:8 The same Hebrew expression can mean obey rules, or execute judgments, depending on the context [10] 5:11 Some Hebrew manuscripts I will cut you down [11] 5:15 Dead Sea Scroll, Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; Masoretic Text And it shall be [12] 5:16 Hebrew them [13] 5:16 Hebrew staff [14] 6:6 Or and punished [15] 6:14 Some Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts Diblah (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 119:81–88 Psalm 119:81–88 (Listen) 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?1    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] 119:84 Hebrew How many are the days of your servant? (ESV) New Testament: Galatians 5–6 Galatians 5–6 (Listen) Christ Has Set Us Free 5 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified1 by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love. 7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers,2 still preach3 circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! 13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another. Keep in Step with the Spirit 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy,4 drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do5 such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. Bear One Another's Burdens 6 Brothers,6 if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. 2 Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. 3 For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. 4 But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. 5 For each will have to bear his own load. 6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. 7 Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. 9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. 10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Final Warning and Benediction 11 See with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand. 12 It is those who want to make a good showing in the flesh who would force you to be circumcised, and only in order that they may not be persecuted for the cross of Christ. 13 For even those who are circumcised do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may boast in your flesh. 14 But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which7 the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. 15 For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. 16 And as for all who walk by this rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God. 17 From now on let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. 18 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers. Amen. Footnotes [1] 5:4 Or counted righteous [2] 5:11 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 13 [3] 5:11 Greek proclaim [4] 5:21 Some manuscripts add murder [5] 5:21 Or make a practice of doing [6] 6:1 Or Brothers and sisters; also verse 18 [7] 6:14 Or through whom (ESV)

Morning: Ezekiel 17–19 Ezekiel 17–19 (Listen) Parable of Two Eagles and a Vine 17 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, propound a riddle, and speak a parable to the house of Israel; 3 say, Thus says the Lord GOD: A great eagle with great wings and long pinions, rich in plumage of many colors, came to Lebanon and took the top of the cedar. 4 He broke off the topmost of its young twigs and carried it to a land of trade and set it in a city of merchants. 5 Then he took of the seed of the land and planted it in fertile soil.1 He placed it beside abundant waters. He set it like a willow twig, 6 and it sprouted and became a low spreading vine, and its branches turned toward him, and its roots remained where it stood. So it became a vine and produced branches and put out boughs. 7 “And there was another great eagle with great wings and much plumage, and behold, this vine bent its roots toward him and shot forth its branches toward him from the bed where it was planted, that he might water it. 8 It had been planted on good soil by abundant waters, that it might produce branches and bear fruit and become a noble vine. 9 “Say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Will it thrive? Will he not pull up its roots and cut off its fruit, so that it withers, so that all its fresh sprouting leaves wither? It will not take a strong arm or many people to pull it from its roots. 10 Behold, it is planted; will it thrive? Will it not utterly wither when the east wind strikes it—wither away on the bed where it sprouted?” 11 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 12 “Say now to the rebellious house, Do you not know what these things mean? Tell them, behold, the king of Babylon came to Jerusalem, and took her king and her princes and brought them to him to Babylon. 13 And he took one of the royal offspring2 and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath (the chief men of the land he had taken away), 14 that the kingdom might be humble and not lift itself up, and keep his covenant that it might stand. 15 But he rebelled against him by sending his ambassadors to Egypt, that they might give him horses and a large army. Will he thrive? Can one escape who does such things? Can he break the covenant and yet escape? 16 “As I live, declares the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwells who made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant with him he broke, in Babylon he shall die. 17 Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company will not help him in war, when mounds are cast up and siege walls built to cut off many lives. 18 He despised the oath in breaking the covenant, and behold, he gave his hand and did all these things; he shall not escape. 19 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: As I live, surely it is my oath that he despised, and my covenant that he broke. I will return it upon his head. 20 I will spread my net over him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon and enter into judgment with him there for the treachery he has committed against me. 21 And all the pick3 of his troops shall fall by the sword, and the survivors shall be scattered to every wind, and you shall know that I am the LORD; I have spoken.” 22 Thus says the Lord GOD: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest. 24 And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the LORD; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the LORD; I have spoken, and I will do it.” The Soul Who Sins Shall Die 18 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “What do you4 mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge'? 3 As I live, declares the Lord GOD, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die. 5 “If a man is righteous and does what is just and right—6 if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife or approach a woman in her time of menstrual impurity, 7 does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 8 does not lend at interest or take any profit,5 withholds his hand from injustice, executes true justice between man and man, 9 walks in my statutes, and keeps my rules by acting faithfully—he is righteous; he shall surely live, declares the Lord GOD. 10 “If he fathers a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things 11 (though he himself did none of these things), who even eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbor's wife, 12 oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, 13 lends at interest, and takes profit; shall he then live? He shall not live. He has done all these abominations; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself. 14 “Now suppose this man fathers a son who sees all the sins that his father has done; he sees, and does not do likewise: 15 he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbor's wife, 16 does not oppress anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, 17 withholds his hand from iniquity,6 takes no interest or profit, obeys my rules, and walks in my statutes; he shall not die for his father's iniquity; he shall surely live. 18 As for his father, because he practiced extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, behold, he shall die for his iniquity. 19 “Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?' When the son has done what is just and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. 20 The soul who sins shall die. The son shall not suffer for the iniquity of the father, nor the father suffer for the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. 21 “But if a wicked person turns away from all his sins that he has committed and keeps all my statutes and does what is just and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 22 None of the transgressions that he has committed shall be remembered against him; for the righteousness that he has done he shall live. 23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord GOD, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? 24 But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die. 25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.' Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.' O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.7 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and live.” A Lament for the Princes of Israel 19 And you, take up a lamentation for the princes of Israel, 2 and say:   What was your mother? A lioness!    Among lions she crouched;  in the midst of young lions    she reared her cubs.3   And she brought up one of her cubs;    he became a young lion,  and he learned to catch prey;    he devoured men.4   The nations heard about him;    he was caught in their pit,  and they brought him with hooks    to the land of Egypt.5   When she saw that she waited in vain,    that her hope was lost,  she took another of her cubs    and made him a young lion.6   He prowled among the lions;    he became a young lion,  and he learned to catch prey;    he devoured men,7   and seized8 their widows.    He laid waste their cities,  and the land was appalled and all who were in it    at the sound of his roaring.8   Then the nations set against him    from provinces on every side;  they spread their net over him;    he was taken in their pit.9   With hooks they put him in a cage9    and brought him to the king of Babylon;    they brought him into custody,  that his voice should no more be heard    on the mountains of Israel. 10   Your mother was like a vine in a vineyard10    planted by the water,  fruitful and full of branches    by reason of abundant water.11   Its strong stems became    rulers' scepters;  it towered aloft    among the thick boughs;11  it was seen in its height    with the mass of its branches.12   But the vine was plucked up in fury,    cast down to the ground;  the east wind dried up its fruit;    they were stripped off and withered.  As for its strong stem,    fire consumed it.13   Now it is planted in the wilderness,    in a dry and thirsty land.14   And fire has gone out from the stem of its shoots,    has consumed its fruit,  so that there remains in it no strong stem,    no scepter for ruling. This is a lamentation and has become a lamentation. Footnotes [1] 17:5 Hebrew in a field of seed [2] 17:13 Hebrew seed [3] 17:21 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum; most Hebrew manuscripts all the fugitives [4] 18:2 The Hebrew for you is plural [5] 18:8 That is, profit that comes from charging interest to the poor; also verses 13, 17 (compare Leviticus 25:36) [6] 18:17 Septuagint; Hebrew from the poor [7] 18:30 Or lest iniquity be your stumbling block [8] 19:7 Hebrew knew [9] 19:9 Or in a wooden collar [10] 19:10 Some Hebrew manuscripts; most Hebrew manuscripts in your blood [11] 19:11 Or the clouds (ESV) Evening: Hebrews 13 Hebrews 13 (Listen) Sacrifices Pleasing to God 13 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. 3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. 4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. 5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we can confidently say,   “The Lord is my helper;    I will not fear;  what can man do to me?” 7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. 9 Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them. 10 We have an altar from which those who serve the tent1 have no right to eat. 11 For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy places by the high priest as a sacrifice for sin are burned outside the camp. 12 So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. 13 Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. 14 For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. 15 Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. 17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. 18 Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things. 19 I urge you the more earnestly to do this in order that I may be restored to you the sooner. Benediction 20 Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, 21 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us2 that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Final Greetings 22 I appeal to you, brothers,3 bear with my word of exhortation, for I have written to you briefly. 23 You should know that our brother Timothy has been released, with whom I shall see you if he comes soon. 24 Greet all your leaders and all the saints. Those who come from Italy send you greetings. 25 Grace be with all of you. Footnotes [1] 13:10 Or tabernacle [2] 13:21 Some manuscripts you [3] 13:22 Or brothers and sisters (ESV)

Old Testament: Lamentations 2–3 Lamentations 2–3 (Listen) The Lord Has Destroyed Without Pity 2   How the Lord in his anger    has set the daughter of Zion under a cloud!  He has cast down from heaven to earth    the splendor of Israel;  he has not remembered his footstool    in the day of his anger. 2   The Lord has swallowed up without mercy    all the habitations of Jacob;  in his wrath he has broken down    the strongholds of the daughter of Judah;  he has brought down to the ground in dishonor    the kingdom and its rulers. 3   He has cut down in fierce anger    all the might of Israel;  he has withdrawn from them his right hand    in the face of the enemy;  he has burned like a flaming fire in Jacob,    consuming all around. 4   He has bent his bow like an enemy,    with his right hand set like a foe;  and he has killed all who were delightful in our eyes    in the tent of the daughter of Zion;  he has poured out his fury like fire. 5   The Lord has become like an enemy;    he has swallowed up Israel;  he has swallowed up all its palaces;    he has laid in ruins its strongholds,  and he has multiplied in the daughter of Judah    mourning and lamentation. 6   He has laid waste his booth like a garden,    laid in ruins his meeting place;  the LORD has made Zion forget    festival and Sabbath,  and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest. 7   The Lord has scorned his altar,    disowned his sanctuary;  he has delivered into the hand of the enemy    the walls of her palaces;  they raised a clamor in the house of the LORD    as on the day of festival. 8   The LORD determined to lay in ruins    the wall of the daughter of Zion;  he stretched out the measuring line;    he did not restrain his hand from destroying;  he caused rampart and wall to lament;    they languished together. 9   Her gates have sunk into the ground;    he has ruined and broken her bars;  her king and princes are among the nations;    the law is no more,  and her prophets find    no vision from the LORD. 10   The elders of the daughter of Zion    sit on the ground in silence;  they have thrown dust on their heads    and put on sackcloth;  the young women of Jerusalem    have bowed their heads to the ground. 11   My eyes are spent with weeping;    my stomach churns;  my bile is poured out to the ground    because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,  because infants and babies faint    in the streets of the city. 12   They cry to their mothers,    “Where is bread and wine?”  as they faint like a wounded man    in the streets of the city,  as their life is poured out    on their mothers' bosom. 13   What can I say for you, to what compare you,    O daughter of Jerusalem?  What can I liken to you, that I may comfort you,    O virgin daughter of Zion?  For your ruin is vast as the sea;    who can heal you? 14   Your prophets have seen for you    false and deceptive visions;  they have not exposed your iniquity    to restore your fortunes,  but have seen for you oracles    that are false and misleading. 15   All who pass along the way    clap their hands at you;  they hiss and wag their heads    at the daughter of Jerusalem:  “Is this the city that was called    the perfection of beauty,    the joy of all the earth?” 16   All your enemies    rail against you;  they hiss, they gnash their teeth,    they cry: “We have swallowed her!  Ah, this is the day we longed for;    now we have it; we see it!” 17   The LORD has done what he purposed;    he has carried out his word,  which he commanded long ago;    he has thrown down without pity;  he has made the enemy rejoice over you    and exalted the might of your foes. 18   Their heart cried to the Lord.    O wall of the daughter of Zion,  let tears stream down like a torrent    day and night!  Give yourself no rest,    your eyes no respite! 19   “Arise, cry out in the night,    at the beginning of the night watches!  Pour out your heart like water    before the presence of the Lord!  Lift your hands to him    for the lives of your children,  who faint for hunger    at the head of every street.” 20   Look, O LORD, and see!    With whom have you dealt thus?  Should women eat the fruit of their womb,    the children of their tender care?  Should priest and prophet be killed    in the sanctuary of the Lord? 21   In the dust of the streets    lie the young and the old;  my young women and my young men    have fallen by the sword;  you have killed them in the day of your anger,    slaughtering without pity. 22   You summoned as if to a festival day    my terrors on every side,  and on the day of the anger of the LORD    no one escaped or survived;  those whom I held and raised    my enemy destroyed. Great Is Your Faithfulness 3   I am the man who has seen affliction    under the rod of his wrath;2   he has driven and brought me    into darkness without any light;3   surely against me he turns his hand    again and again the whole day long. 4   He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;    he has broken my bones;5   he has besieged and enveloped me    with bitterness and tribulation;6   he has made me dwell in darkness    like the dead of long ago. 7   He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;    he has made my chains heavy;8   though I call and cry for help,    he shuts out my prayer;9   he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;    he has made my paths crooked. 10   He is a bear lying in wait for me,    a lion in hiding;11   he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces;    he has made me desolate;12   he bent his bow and set me    as a target for his arrow. 13   He drove into my kidneys    the arrows of his quiver;14   I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,    the object of their taunts all day long.15   He has filled me with bitterness;    he has sated me with wormwood. 16   He has made my teeth grind on gravel,    and made me cower in ashes;17   my soul is bereft of peace;    I have forgotten what happiness1 is;18   so I say, “My endurance has perished;    so has my hope from the LORD.” 19   Remember my affliction and my wanderings,    the wormwood and the gall!20   My soul continually remembers it    and is bowed down within me.21   But this I call to mind,    and therefore I have hope: 22   The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;2    his mercies never come to an end;23   they are new every morning;    great is your faithfulness.24   “The LORD is my portion,” says my soul,    “therefore I will hope in him.” 25   The LORD is good to those who wait for him,    to the soul who seeks him.26   It is good that one should wait quietly    for the salvation of the LORD.27   It is good for a man that he bear    the yoke in his youth. 28   Let him sit alone in silence    when it is laid on him;29   let him put his mouth in the dust—    there may yet be hope;30   let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,    and let him be filled with insults. 31   For the Lord will not    cast off forever,32   but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion    according to the abundance of his steadfast love;33   for he does not afflict from his heart    or grieve the children of men. 34   To crush underfoot    all the prisoners of the earth,35   to deny a man justice    in the presence of the Most High,36   to subvert a man in his lawsuit,    the Lord does not approve. 37   Who has spoken and it came to pass,    unless the Lord has commanded it?38   Is it not from the mouth of the Most High    that good and bad come?39   Why should a living man complain,    a man, about the punishment of his sins? 40   Let us test and examine our ways,    and return to the LORD!41   Let us lift up our hearts and hands    to God in heaven:42   “We have transgressed and rebelled,    and you have not forgiven. 43   “You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,    killing without pity;44   you have wrapped yourself with a cloud    so that no prayer can pass through.45   You have made us scum and garbage    among the peoples. 46   “All our enemies    open their mouths against us;47   panic and pitfall have come upon us,    devastation and destruction;48   my eyes flow with rivers of tears    because of the destruction of the daughter of my people. 49   “My eyes will flow without ceasing,    without respite,50   until the LORD from heaven    looks down and sees;51   my eyes cause me grief    at the fate of all the daughters of my city. 52   “I have been hunted like a bird    by those who were my enemies without cause;53   they flung me alive into the pit    and cast stones on me;54   water closed over my head;    I said, ‘I am lost.' 55   “I called on your name, O LORD,    from the depths of the pit;56   you heard my plea, ‘Do not close    your ear to my cry for help!'57   You came near when I called on you;    you said, ‘Do not fear!' 58   “You have taken up my cause, O Lord;    you have redeemed my life.59   You have seen the wrong done to me, O LORD;    judge my cause.60   You have seen all their vengeance,    all their plots against me. 61   “You have heard their taunts, O LORD,    all their plots against me.62   The lips and thoughts of my assailants    are against me all the day long.63   Behold their sitting and their rising;    I am the object of their taunts. 64   “You will repay them,3 O LORD,    according to the work of their hands.65   You will give them4 dullness of heart;    your curse will be5 on them.66   You will pursue them6 in anger and destroy them    from under your heavens, O LORD.”7 Footnotes [1] 3:17 Hebrew good [2] 3:22 Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Because of the steadfast love of the Lord&

#246.***To support the podcast or to sponsor an episode: https://seforimchatter.com/support-seforimchatter/ or email seforimchatter@gmail.com (Zelle/QP this email address)**** Sponsored by Mosaica Press. Check out their many new titles at your local Judaica store or www.Mosaicapress.com, especially Lessons From Targum Onkelos, a brand new two-volume set that teaches the fundamental yesodos of Onkelos, and will enhance every readers understanding and appreciation for Onkelos.**** This episode is also sponsored by a project to reprint the shiurim of the the Mikdash Dovid, Rav Dovid Rappaport ZT'L, R'Y in Baranovitch with Rav Elchanan Wasserman. Rav Dovid was sent to Siberia by the communists and died in 1941 without descendants. This project seeks to publish his shiurim in a projected massive 3 volumes, which will contain the previously published 2 volumes of shiurim on Bava Basra, Pesachim and Chullin, as well as material from manuscripts and Torah journals. If anyone has any notebooks or writings or his shiurim, as well as any knowledge of any Torah published in journals, please email: mikdashdovidshiurim@gmail.com, and also support the project through the link below: שיעורי מקדש דוד על הש''ס | The Chesed Fund**** Podcast bullet points: We discussed what Taamei HaMikra ("Trop") are, why are Taamim important in general, why they are important for Pshat, whether Taamim are considered Limud HaTorah, examples of Taamim, Tagrum Onkleos, what the Sefer does, sources used in the Sefer, and much more.To purchase "Meforash V'Som Sechel":  https://www.eshelpublications.com/store/p22/Meforash_Ve%27Som_Sechel-_New_Sefer%21.html

With family: 2 Kings 13; 2 Timothy 3 2 Kings 13 (Listen) Jehoahaz Reigns in Israel 13 In the twenty-third year of Joash the son of Ahaziah, king of Judah, Jehoahaz the son of Jehu began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years. 2 He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and followed the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin; he did not depart from them. 3 And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he gave them continually into the hand of Hazael king of Syria and into the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael. 4 Then Jehoahaz sought the favor of the LORD, and the LORD listened to him, for he saw the oppression of Israel, how the king of Syria oppressed them. 5 (Therefore the LORD gave Israel a savior, so that they escaped from the hand of the Syrians, and the people of Israel lived in their homes as formerly. 6 Nevertheless, they did not depart from the sins of the house of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin, but walked1 in them; and the Asherah also remained in Samaria.) 7 For there was not left to Jehoahaz an army of more than fifty horsemen and ten chariots and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them and made them like the dust at threshing. 8 Now the rest of the acts of Jehoahaz and all that he did, and his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 9 So Jehoahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria, and Joash his son reigned in his place. Jehoash Reigns in Israel 10 In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash2 the son of Jehoahaz began to reign over Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years. 11 He also did what was evil in the sight of the LORD. He did not depart from all the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin, but he walked in them. 12 Now the rest of the acts of Joash and all that he did, and the might with which he fought against Amaziah king of Judah, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 13 So Joash slept with his fathers, and Jeroboam sat on his throne. And Joash was buried in Samaria with the kings of Israel. The Death of Elisha 14 Now when Elisha had fallen sick with the illness of which he was to die, Joash king of Israel went down to him and wept before him, crying, “My father, my father! The chariots of Israel and its horsemen!” 15 And Elisha said to him, “Take a bow and arrows.” So he took a bow and arrows. 16 Then he said to the king of Israel, “Draw the bow,” and he drew it. And Elisha laid his hands on the king's hands. 17 And he said, “Open the window eastward,” and he opened it. Then Elisha said, “Shoot,” and he shot. And he said, “The LORD's arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Syria! For you shall fight the Syrians in Aphek until you have made an end of them.” 18 And he said, “Take the arrows,” and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, “Strike the ground with them.” And he struck three times and stopped. 19 Then the man of God was angry with him and said, “You should have struck five or six times; then you would have struck down Syria until you had made an end of it, but now you will strike down Syria only three times.” 20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet. 22 Now Hazael king of Syria oppressed Israel all the days of Jehoahaz. 23 But the LORD was gracious to them and had compassion on them, and he turned toward them, because of his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and would not destroy them, nor has he cast them from his presence until now. 24 When Hazael king of Syria died, Ben-hadad his son became king in his place. 25 Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities that he had taken from Jehoahaz his father in war. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel. Footnotes [1] 13:6 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate; Hebrew he walked [2] 13:10 Jehoash is an alternate spelling of Joash (son of Jehoahaz) as in verses 9, 12–14; also verse 25 (ESV) 2 Timothy 3 (Listen) Godlessness in the Last Days 3 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. 6 For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. 9 But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men. All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God 10 You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom1 you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God2 may be complete, equipped for every good work. Footnotes [1] 3:14 The Greek for whom is plural [2] 3:17 That is, a messenger of God (the phrase echoes a common Old Testament expression) (ESV) In private: Psalm 119:145–176; Hosea 5–6 Psalm 119:145–176 (Listen) 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. (ESV) Hosea 5–6 (Listen) Punishment Coming for Israel and Judah 5   Hear this, O priests!    Pay attention, O house of Israel!  Give ear, O house of the king!    For the judgment is for you;  for you have been a snare at Mizpah    and a net spread upon Tabor.2   And the revolters have gone deep into slaughter,    but I will discipline all of them. 3   I know Ephraim,    and Israel is not hidden from me;  for now, O Ephraim, you have played the whore;    Israel is defiled.4   Their deeds do not permit them    to return to their God.  For the spirit of whoredom is within them,    and they know not the LORD. 5   The pride of Israel testifies to his face;1    Israel and Ephraim shall stumble in his guilt;    Judah also shall stumble with them.6   With their flocks and herds they shall go    to seek the LORD,  but they will not find him;    he has withdrawn from them.7   They have dealt faithlessly with the LORD;    for they have borne alien children.    Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields. 8   Blow the horn in Gibeah,    the trumpet in Ramah.  Sound the alarm at Beth-aven;    we follow you,2 O Benjamin!9   Ephraim shall become a desolation    in the day of punishment;  among the tribes of Israel    I make known what is sure.10   The princes of Judah have become    like those who move the landmark;  upon them I will pour out    my wrath like water.11   Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment,    because he was determined to go after filth.312   But I am like a moth to Ephraim,    and like dry rot to the house of Judah. 13   When Ephraim saw his sickness,    and Judah his wound,  then Ephraim went to Assyria,    and sent to the great king.4  But he is not able to cure you    or heal your wound.14   For I will be like a lion to Ephraim,    and like a young lion to the house of Judah.  I, even I, will tear and go away;    I will carry off, and no one shall rescue. 15   I will return again to my place,    until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,    and in their distress earnestly seek me. Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant 6   “Come, let us return to the LORD;    for he has torn us, that he may heal us;    he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.2   After two days he will revive us;    on the third day he will raise us up,    that we may live before him.3   Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD;    his going out is sure as the dawn;  he will come to us as the showers,    as the spring rains that water the earth.” 4   What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?    What shall I do with you, O Judah?  Your love is like a morning cloud,    like the dew that goes early away.5   Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;    I have slain them by the words of my mouth,    and my judgment goes forth as the light.6   For I desire steadfast love5 and not sacrifice,    the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. 7   But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;    there they dealt faithlessly with me.8   Gilead is a city of evildoers,    tracked with blood.9   As robbers lie in wait for a man,    so the priests band together;  they murder on the way to Shechem;    they commit villainy.10   In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;    Ephraim's whoredom is there; Israel is defiled. 11   For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.   When I restore the fortunes of my people, Footnotes [1] 5:5 Or in his presence [2] 5:8 Or after you [3] 5:11 Or to follow human precepts [4] 5:13 Or to King Jareb [5] 6:6 Septuagint mercy (ESV)

With family: 2 Kings 10; 2 Timothy 1 2 Kings 10 (Listen) Jehu Slaughters Ahab's Descendants 10 Now Ahab had seventy sons in Samaria. So Jehu wrote letters and sent them to Samaria, to the rulers of the city,1 to the elders, and to the guardians of the sons2 of Ahab, saying, 2 “Now then, as soon as this letter comes to you, seeing your master's sons are with you, and there are with you chariots and horses, fortified cities also, and weapons, 3 select the best and fittest of your master's sons and set him on his father's throne and fight for your master's house.” 4 But they were exceedingly afraid and said, “Behold, the two kings could not stand before him. How then can we stand?” 5 So he who was over the palace, and he who was over the city, together with the elders and the guardians, sent to Jehu, saying, “We are your servants, and we will do all that you tell us. We will not make anyone king. Do whatever is good in your eyes.” 6 Then he wrote to them a second letter, saying, “If you are on my side, and if you are ready to obey me, take the heads of your master's sons and come to me at Jezreel tomorrow at this time.” Now the king's sons, seventy persons, were with the great men of the city, who were bringing them up. 7 And as soon as the letter came to them, they took the king's sons and slaughtered them, seventy persons, and put their heads in baskets and sent them to him at Jezreel. 8 When the messenger came and told him, “They have brought the heads of the king's sons,” he said, “Lay them in two heaps at the entrance of the gate until the morning.” 9 Then in the morning, when he went out, he stood and said to all the people, “You are innocent. It was I who conspired against my master and killed him, but who struck down all these? 10 Know then that there shall fall to the earth nothing of the word of the LORD, which the LORD spoke concerning the house of Ahab, for the LORD has done what he said by his servant Elijah.” 11 So Jehu struck down all who remained of the house of Ahab in Jezreel, all his great men and his close friends and his priests, until he left him none remaining. 12 Then he set out and went to Samaria. On the way, when he was at Beth-eked of the Shepherds, 13 Jehu met the relatives of Ahaziah king of Judah, and he said, “Who are you?” And they answered, “We are the relatives of Ahaziah, and we came down to visit the royal princes and the sons of the queen mother.” 14 He said, “Take them alive.” And they took them alive and slaughtered them at the pit of Beth-eked, forty-two persons, and he spared none of them. 15 And when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said,3 “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot. 16 And he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD.” So he4 had him ride in his chariot. 17 And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke to Elijah. Jehu Strikes Down the Prophets of Baal 18 Then Jehu assembled all the people and said to them, “Ahab served Baal a little, but Jehu will serve him much. 19 Now therefore call to me all the prophets of Baal, all his worshipers and all his priests. Let none be missing, for I have a great sacrifice to offer to Baal. Whoever is missing shall not live.” But Jehu did it with cunning in order to destroy the worshipers of Baal. 20 And Jehu ordered, “Sanctify a solemn assembly for Baal.” So they proclaimed it. 21 And Jehu sent throughout all Israel, and all the worshipers of Baal came, so that there was not a man left who did not come. And they entered the house of Baal, and the house of Baal was filled from one end to the other. 22 He said to him who was in charge of the wardrobe, “Bring out the vestments for all the worshipers of Baal.” So he brought out the vestments for them. 23 Then Jehu went into the house of Baal with Jehonadab the son of Rechab, and he said to the worshipers of Baal, “Search, and see that there is no servant of the LORD here among you, but only the worshipers of Baal.” 24 Then they5 went in to offer sacrifices and burnt offerings. Now Jehu had stationed eighty men outside and said, “The man who allows any of those whom I give into your hands to escape shall forfeit his life.” 25 So as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, Jehu said to the guard and to the officers, “Go in and strike them down; let not a man escape.” So when they put them to the sword, the guard and the officers cast them out and went into the inner room of the house of Baal, 26 and they brought out the pillar that was in the house of Baal and burned it. 27 And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day. Jehu Reigns in Israel 28 Thus Jehu wiped out Baal from Israel. 29 But Jehu did not turn aside from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, which he made Israel to sin—that is, the golden calves that were in Bethel and in Dan. 30 And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in carrying out what is right in my eyes, and have done to the house of Ahab according to all that was in my heart, your sons of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel.” 31 But Jehu was not careful to walk in the law of the LORD, the God of Israel, with all his heart. He did not turn from the sins of Jeroboam, which he made Israel to sin. 32 In those days the LORD began to cut off parts of Israel. Hazael defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: 33 from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites, and the Reubenites, and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the Valley of the Arnon, that is, Gilead and Bashan. 34 Now the rest of the acts of Jehu and all that he did, and all his might, are they not written in the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel? 35 So Jehu slept with his fathers, and they buried him in Samaria. And Jehoahaz his son reigned in his place. 36 The time that Jehu reigned over Israel in Samaria was twenty-eight years. Footnotes [1] 10:1 Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew rulers of Jezreel [2] 10:1 Hebrew lacks of the sons [3] 10:15 Septuagint; Hebrew lacks Jehu said [4] 10:16 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew they [5] 10:24 Septuagint he (compare verse 25) (ESV) 2 Timothy 1 (Listen) Greeting 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God according to the promise of the life that is in Christ Jesus, 2 To Timothy, my beloved child: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord. Guard the Deposit Entrusted to You 3 I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. 4 As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. 5 I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. 6 For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, 7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. 8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, 9 who saved us and called us to1 a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began,2 10 and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, 11 for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, 12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.3 13 Follow the pattern of the sound4 words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 14 By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you. 15 You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes. 16 May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains, 17 but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me earnestly and found me—18 may the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day!—and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus. Footnotes [1] 1:9 Or with [2] 1:9 Greek before times eternal [3] 1:12 Or what I have entrusted to him; Greek my deposit [4] 1:13 Or healthy (ESV) In private: Psalm 119:97–120; Hosea 2 Psalm 119:97–120 (Listen) 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. Footnotes [1] 119:100 Or the elders [2] 119:112 Or statutes; the reward is eternal (ESV) Hosea 2 (Listen) Israel's Unfaithfulness Punished 2 1 Say to your brothers, “You are my people,”2 and to your sisters, “You have received mercy.”3 2   “Plead with your mother, plead—    for she is not my wife,    and I am not her husband—  that she put away her whoring from her face,    and her adultery from between her breasts;3   lest I strip her naked    and make her as in the day she was born,  and make her like a wilderness,    and make her like a parched land,    and kill her with thirst.4   Upon her children also I will have no mercy,    because they are children of whoredom.5   For their mother has played the whore;    she who conceived them has acted shamefully.  For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers,    who give me my bread and my water,    my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.'6   Therefore I will hedge up her4 way with thorns,    and I will build a wall against her,    so that she cannot find her paths.7   She shall pursue her lovers    but not overtake them,  and she shall seek them    but shall not find them.  Then she shall say,    ‘I will go and return to my first husband,    for it was better for me then than now.'8   And she did not know    that it was I who gave her    the grain, the wine, and the oil,  and who lavished on her silver and gold,    which they used for Baal.9   Therefore I will take back    my grain in its time,    and my wine in its season,  and I will take away my wool and my flax,    which were to cover her nakedness.10   Now I will uncover her lewdness    in the sight of her lovers,    and no one shall rescue her out of my hand.11   And I will put an end to all her mirth,    her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths,    and all her appointed feasts.12   And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees,    of which she said,  ‘These are my wages,    which my lovers have given me.'  I will make them a forest,    and the beasts of the field shall devour them.13   And I will punish her for the feast days of the Baals    when she burned offerings to them  and adorned herself with her ring and jewelry,    and went after her lovers    and forgot me, declares the LORD. The Lord's Mercy on Israel 14   “Therefore, behold, I will allure her,    and bring her into the wilderness,    and speak tenderly to her.15   And there I will give her her vineyards    and make the Valley of Achor5 a door of hope.  And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,    as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt. 16 “And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me ‘My Husband,' and no longer will you call me ‘My Baal.' 17 For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they shall be remembered by name no more. 18 And I will make for them a covenant on that day with the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens, and the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish6 the bow, the sword, and war from the land, and I will make you lie down in safety. 19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD. 21   “And in that day I will answer, declares the LORD,    I will answer the heavens,    and they shall answer the earth,22   and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,    and they shall answer Jezreel,723     and I will sow her for myself in the land.  And I will have mercy on No Mercy,8    and I will say to Not My People,9 ‘You are my people';    and he shall say, ‘You are my God.'” Footnotes [1] 2:1 Ch 2:3 in Hebrew [2] 2:1 Hebrew ammi, which means my people [3] 2:1 Hebrew ruhama, which means she has received mercy [4] 2:6 Hebrew your [5] 2:15 Achor means trouble; compare Joshua 7:26 [6] 2:18 Hebrew break [7] 2:22 Jezreel means God will sow [8] 2:23 Hebrew Lo-ruhama [9] 2:23 Hebrew Lo-ammi (ESV)

Old Testament: Isaiah 63–66 Isaiah 63–66 (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? 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 by11 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.”12 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 enjoy13 the work of their hands.23   They shall not labor in vain    or bear children for calamity,14  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,”      says the LORD. 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?”

Old Testament: Isaiah 59–62 Isaiah 59–62 (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.” 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,3  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;4  but the LORD will be your everlasting light,    and your God will be your glory.520   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.622   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. 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;7    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;82   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.94   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;10  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,11    and your land shall no more be termed Desolate,12  but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her,13    and your land Married;14  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.”15 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;

With family: 1 Kings 17; Colossians 4 1 Kings 17 (Listen) Elijah Predicts a Drought 17 Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe1 in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 2 And the word of the LORD came to him: 3 “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 4 You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. The Widow of Zarephath 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'” 15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah. Elijah Raises the Widow's Son 17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!” 19 And he said to her, “Give me your son.” And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?” 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child's life2 come into him again.” 22 And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived. 23 And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” 24 And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.” Footnotes [1] 17:1 Septuagint; Hebrew of the settlers [2] 17:21 Or soul; also verse 22 (ESV) Colossians 4 (Listen) 4 Masters, treat your bondservants1 justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven. Further Instructions 2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. Final Greetings 7 Tychicus will tell you all about my activities. He is a beloved brother and faithful minister and fellow servant2 in the Lord. 8 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are and that he may encourage your hearts, 9 and with him Onesimus, our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They will tell you of everything that has taken place here. 10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), 11 and Jesus who is called Justus. These are the only men of the circumcision among my fellow workers for the kingdom of God, and they have been a comfort to me. 12 Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ Jesus, greets you, always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God. 13 For I bear him witness that he has worked hard for you and for those in Laodicea and in Hierapolis. 14 Luke the beloved physician greets you, as does Demas. 15 Give my greetings to the brothers3 at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. 16 And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea. 17 And say to Archippus, “See that you fulfill the ministry that you have received in the Lord.” 18 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you. Footnotes [1] 4:1 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface; likewise for servant in verse 12 [2] 4:7 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word sundoulos, see Preface [3] 4:15 Or brothers and sisters (ESV) In private: Psalm 103; Ezekiel 47 Psalm 103 (Listen) Bless the Lord, O My Soul Of David. 103   Bless the LORD, O my soul,    and all that is within me,    bless his holy name!2   Bless the LORD, O my soul,    and forget not all his benefits,3   who forgives all your iniquity,    who heals all your diseases,4   who redeems your life from the pit,    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,5   who satisfies you with good    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 6   The LORD works righteousness    and justice for all who are oppressed.7   He made known his ways to Moses,    his acts to the people of Israel.8   The LORD is merciful and gracious,    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.9   He will not always chide,    nor will he keep his anger forever.10   He does not deal with us according to our sins,    nor repay us according to our iniquities.11   For as high as the heavens are above the earth,    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;12   as far as the east is from the west,    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.13   As a father shows compassion to his children,    so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.14   For he knows our frame;1    he remembers that we are dust. 15   As for man, his days are like grass;    he flourishes like a flower of the field;16   for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,    and its place knows it no more.17   But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him,    and his righteousness to children's children,18   to those who keep his covenant    and remember to do his commandments.19   The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,    and his kingdom rules over all. 20   Bless the LORD, O you his angels,    you mighty ones who do his word,    obeying the voice of his word!21   Bless the LORD, all his hosts,    his ministers, who do his will!22   Bless the LORD, all his works,    in all places of his dominion.  Bless the LORD, O my soul! Footnotes [1] 103:14 Or knows how we are formed (ESV) Ezekiel 47 (Listen) Water Flowing from the Temple 47 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side. 3 Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits,1 and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. 5 Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. 6 And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. 7 As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. 8 And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea;2 when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.3 9 And wherever the river goes,4 every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea5 may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. 10 Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.6 11 But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. 12 And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing.” Division of the Land 13 Thus says the Lord GOD: “This is the boundary7 by which you shall divide the land for inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall have two portions. 14 And you shall divide equally what I swore to give to your fathers. This land shall fall to you as your inheritance. 15 “This shall be the boundary of the land: On the north side, from the Great Sea by way of Hethlon to Lebo-hamath, and on to Zedad,8 16 Berothah, Sibraim (which lies on the border between Damascus and Hamath), as far as Hazer-hatticon, which is on the border of Hauran. 17 So the boundary shall run from the sea to Hazar-enan, which is on the northern border of Damascus, with the border of Hamath to the north.9 This shall be the north side.10 18 “On the east side, the boundary shall run between Hauran and Damascus; along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; to the eastern sea and as far as Tamar.11 This shall be the east side. 19 “On the south side, it shall run from Tamar as far as the waters of Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt12 to the Great Sea. This shall be the south side. 20 “On the west side, the Great Sea shall be the boundary to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This shall be the west side. 21 “So you shall divide this land among you according to the tribes of Israel. 22 You shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the sojourners who reside among you and have had children among you. They shall be to you as native-born children of Israel. With you they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 23 In whatever tribe the sojourner resides, there you shall assign him his inheritance, declares the Lord GOD. Footnotes [1] 47:3 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters [2] 47:8 That is, the Dead Sea [3] 47:8 Hebrew will be healed; also verses 9, 11 [4] 47:9 Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, Targum; Hebrew the two rivers go [5] 47:9 Hebrew lacks the waters of the sea [6] 47:10 That is, the Mediterranean Sea; also verses 15, 19, 20 [7] 47:13 Probable reading; Hebrew The valley of the boundary [8] 47:15 Septuagint; Hebrew the entrance of Zedad, Hamath [9] 47:17 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain [10] 47:17 Probable reading; Hebrew and as for the north side [11] 47:18 Compare Syriac; Hebrew to the eastern sea you shall measure [12] 47:19 Hebrew lacks of Egypt (ESV)

Old Testament: Isaiah 37–38 Isaiah 37–38 (Listen) 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,1 “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,    blighted2 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. 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.”3 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.4 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.5 9 A writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, after he had been sick and had recovered from his sickness: 10   I said, In the middle6 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 myself7 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] 37:9 Probably Nubia [2] 37:27 Some Hebrew manuscripts and 2 Kings 19:26; most Hebrew manuscripts a field [3] 38:1 Or live; also verses 9, 21 [4] 38:5 Hebrew to your days [5] 38:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain [6] 38:10 Or In the quiet [7] 38:13 Or (with Targum) I cried for help (ESV) Psalm: Psalm 93 Psalm 93 (Listen) The Lord Reigns 93   The LORD reigns; he is robed in majesty;    the LORD is robed; he has put on strength as his belt.  Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.2   Your throne is established from of old;    you are from everlasting. 3   The floods have lifted up, O LORD,    the floods have lifted up their voice;    the floods lift up their roaring.4   Mightier than the thunders of many waters,    mightier than the waves of the sea,    the LORD on high is mighty! 5   Your decrees are very trustworthy;    holiness befits your house,    O LORD, forevermore. (ESV) New Testament: Acts 17 Acts 17 (Listen) Paul and Silas in Thessalonica 17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. 5 But the Jews1 were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. Paul and Silas in Berea 10 The brothers2 immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men. 13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. Paul in Athens 16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. Paul Addresses the Areopagus 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,3 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for   “‘In him we live and move and have our being';4 as even some of your own poets have said,   “‘For we are indeed his offspring.'5 29 Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. Footnotes [1] 17:5 Greek Ioudaioi probably refers here to Jewish religious leaders, and others under their influence, in that time; also verse 13 [2] 17:10 Or brothers and sisters; also verse 14 [3] 17:24 Greek made by hands [4] 17:28 Probably from Epimenides of Crete [5] 17:28 From Aratus's poem “Phainomena” (ESV)

Old Testament: Isaiah 29–30 Isaiah 29–30 (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   Egypt's help is worthless and empty;    therefore I have called her    “Rahab who sits still.” A Rebellious People 8   And now, go, write it before them on a tablet    and inscribe it in a book,  that it may be for the time to come    as a witness forever.69   For they are a rebellious people,    lying children,  children unwilling to hear    the instruction of the LORD;10   who say to the seers, “Do not see,”    and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us what is right;  speak to us smooth things,    prophesy illusions,11   leave the way, turn aside from the path,    let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.”12   Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel,  “Because you despise this word    and trust in oppression and perverseness    and rely on them,13   therefore this iniquity shall be to you    like a breach in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,    whose breaking comes suddenly, in an instant;14   and its breaking is like that of a potter's vessel    that is smashed so ruthlessly  that among its fragments not a shard is found    with which to take fire from the hearth,    or to dip up water out of the cistern.” 15   For thus said the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel,  “In returning7 and rest you shall be saved;    in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.”  But you were unwilling, 16 and you said,  “No! We will flee upon horses”;    therefore you shall flee away;  and, “We will ride upon swift steeds”;    therefore your pursuers shall be swift.17   A thousand shall flee at the threat of one;    at the threat of five you shall flee,  till you are left    like a flagstaff on the top of a mountain,    like a signal on a hill. 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;8  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 place9 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. Footnotes [1] 29:2 Ariel could mean lion of God, or hero (2 Samuel 23:20), or altar hearth (Ezekiel 43:15–16) [2] 29:9 Or Linger awhile [3] 29:9 Or They are drunk [4] 29:9 Or they stagger [5] 30:1 Hebrew who weave a web [6] 30:8 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Targum, Vulgate, and Greek versions; Masoretic Text forever and ever [7] 30:15 Or repentance [8] 30:27 Hebrew in weight of uplifted clouds [9] 30:33 Or For Topheth (ESV) Psalm: 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) New Testament: Acts 14 Acts 14 (Listen) Paul and Barnabas at Iconium 14 Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.1 3 So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4 But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. 5 When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, 6 they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, 7 and there they continued to preach the gospel. Paul and Barnabas at Lystra 8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,2 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crow