02

May

May 2

Joshua 23

1Now after a long time, when the Lord had given Israel rest from wars on every side, and Joshua was old and full of years,

2Joshua sent for all Israel, for their responsible men and their chiefs and their judges and their overseers, and said to them, I am old, and full of years:

3You have seen everything the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you; for it is the Lord your God who has been fighting for you.

4Now I have given to you, as the heritage of your tribes, all these nations which are still in the land, together with those cut off by me, from Jordan as far as the Great Sea on the west.

5The Lord your God will send them away by force, driving them out before you; and you are to take their land for your heritage, as the Lord your God said to you.

6So be very strong to keep and do whatever is recorded in the book of the law of Moses, not turning away from it to the right or to the left;

7Have nothing to do with these nations who still are living among you; let not their gods be named by you or used in your oaths; do not be their servants or give them worship:

8But be true to the Lord your God as you have been till this day.

9For the Lord has sent out from before you nations great and strong: and they have all given way before you till this day.

10One man of you is able to put to flight a thousand; for it is the Lord your God who is fighting for you, as he has said to you.

11So keep watch on yourselves, and see that you have love for the Lord your God.

12For if you go back, joining yourselves to the rest of these nations who are still among you, getting married to them and living with them and they with you:

13Then you may be certain that the Lord your God will not go on driving these nations out from before you; but they will become a danger and a cause of sin to you, a whip for your sides and thorns in your eyes, till you are cut off from this good land which the Lord your God has given you.

14Now I am about to go the way of all the earth: and you have seen and are certain, all of you, in your hearts and souls, that in all the good things which the Lord said about you, he has kept faith with you; everything has come true for you.

15And you will see that, as all the good things which the Lord your God undertook to do for you, have come to you, so the Lord will send down on you all the evil things till he has made your destruction complete, and you are cut off from the good land which the Lord your God has given you.

16If the agreement of the Lord your God, which was given to you by his orders, is broken, and you become the servants of other gods and give them worship, then the wrath of the Lord will be burning against you, and you will quickly be cut off from the good land which he has given you.

Joshua 24

1Then Joshua got all the tribes of Israel together at Shechem; and he sent for the responsible men of Israel and their chiefs and their judges and their overseers; and they took their place before God.

2And Joshua said to all the people, These are the words of the Lord, the God of Israel: In the past your fathers, Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nahor, were living on the other side of the River: and they were worshipping other gods.

3And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the River, guiding him through all the land of Canaan; I made his offspring great in number, and gave him Isaac.

4And to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau: to Esau I gave Mount Seir, as his heritage; but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.

5And I sent Moses and Aaron, troubling Egypt by all the signs I did among them: and after that I took you out.

6I took your fathers out of Egypt: and you came to the Red Sea; and the Egyptians came after your fathers to the Red Sea, with their war-carriages and their horsemen.

7And at their cry, the Lord made it dark between you and the Egyptians, and made the sea go over them, covering them with its waters; your eyes have seen what I did in Egypt: then for a long time you were living in the waste land.

8And I took you into the lands of the Amorites on the other side of Jordan; and they made war on you, and I gave them into your hands and you took their land; and I sent destruction on them before you.

9Then Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, went up to war against Israel; and he sent for Balaam, the son of Beor, to put a curse on you:

10But I did not give ear to Balaam; and so he went on blessing you; and I kept you safe from him.

11Then you went over Jordan and came to Jericho: and the men of Jericho made war on you, the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Hivites and the Jebusites: and I gave them up into your hands.

12And I sent the hornet before you, driving out the two kings of the Amorites before you, not with your sword and your bow.

13And I gave you a land on which you had done no work, and towns not of your building, and you are now living in them; and your food comes from vine-gardens and olive-gardens not of your planting.

14So now, go in fear of the Lord, and be his servants with true hearts: put away the gods worshipped by your fathers across the River and in Egypt, and be servants of the Lord.

15And if it seems evil to you to be the servants of the Lord, make the decision this day whose servants you will be: of the gods whose servants your fathers were across the River, or of the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living: but I and my house will be the servants of the Lord.

16Then the people in answer said, Never will we give up the Lord to be the servants of other gods;

17For it is the Lord our God who has taken us and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house, and who did all those great signs before our eyes, and kept us safe on all our journeys, and among all the peoples through whom we went:

18And the Lord sent out from before us all the peoples, the Amorites living in the land: so we will be the servants of the Lord, for he is our God.

19And Joshua said to the people, You are not able to be the servants of the Lord, for he is a holy God, a God who will not let his honour be given to another: he will have no mercy on your wrongdoing or your sins.

20If you are turned away from the Lord and become the servants of strange gods, then turning against you he will do you evil, cutting you off, after he has done you good.

21And the people said to Joshua, No! But we will be the servants of the Lord.

22And Joshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have made the decision to be the servants of the Lord. And they said, We are witnesses.

23Then, he said, put away the strange gods among you, turning your hearts to the Lord, the God of Israel.

24And the people said to Joshua, We will be the servants of the Lord our God, and we will give ear to his voice.

25So Joshua made an agreement with the people that day, and gave them a rule and a law in Shechem.

26And Joshua put these words on record, writing them in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and put it up there under the oak-tree which was in the holy place of the Lord.

27And Joshua said to all the people, See now, this stone is to be a witness against us; for all the words of the Lord have been said to us in its hearing: so it will be a witness against you if you are false to the Lord your God.

28Then Joshua let the people go away, every man to his heritage.

29Now after these things, the death of Joshua, the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, took place, he being then a hundred and ten years old.

30And they put his body in the earth in the land of his heritage in Timnath-serah, in the hill-country of Ephraim, to the north of Mount Gaash.

31And Israel was true to the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the older men who were still living after Joshua’s death, and had seen what the Lord had done for Israel.

32And the bones of Joseph, which the children of Israel had taken up from Egypt, they put in the earth in Shechem, in the property which Jacob had got from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred shekels: and they became the heritage of the children of Joseph.

33Then the death of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, took place; and his body was put in the earth in the hill of Phinehas his son, which had been given to him in the hill-country of Ephraim.

Job 32

1So these three men gave no more answers to Job, because he seemed to himself to be right.

2And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was angry, burning with wrath against Job, because he seemed to himself more right than God;

3And he was angry with his three friends, because they had been unable to give him an answer, and had not made Job’s sin clear.

4Now Elihu had kept quiet while Job was talking, because they were older than he;

5And when Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of the three men, he was very angry.

6And Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, made answer and said, I am young, and you are very old, so I was in fear, and kept myself from putting my knowledge before you.

7I said to myself, It is right for the old to say what is in their minds, and for those who are far on in years to give out wisdom.

8But truly it is the spirit in man, even the breath of the Ruler of all, which gives them knowledge.

9It is not the old who are wise, and those who are full of years have not the knowledge of what is right.

10So I say, Give ear to me, and I will put forward my knowledge.

11I was waiting for your words, I was giving ear to your wise sayings; while you were searching out what to say,

12I was taking note; and truly not one of you was able to make clear Job’s error, or to give an answer to his words.

13Take care that you do not say, Wisdom is here; God may overcome him, but not man.

14I will not put forward words like these, or make use of your sayings in answer to him.

15Fear has overcome them, they have no more answers to give; they have come to an end of words.

16And am I to go on waiting while they have nothing to say? while they keep quiet and give no more answers?

17I will give my answer; I will put forward my knowledge:

18For I am full of words, I am unable to keep in my breath any longer:

19My stomach is like wine which is unable to get out; like skins full of new wine, it is almost burst.

20Let me say what is in my mind, so that I may get comfort; let me give answer with open mouth.

21Let me not give respect to any man, or give names of honour to any living.

22For I am not able to give names of honour to any man; and if I did, my Maker would quickly take me away.

Acts 15:1-21

1Now certain men came down from Judaea, teaching the brothers and saying that without circumcision, after the rule of Moses, there is no salvation.

2And after Paul and Barnabas had had no little argument and discussion with them, the brothers made a decision to send Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them to the Apostles and the rulers of the church at Jerusalem about this question.

3So they, being sent on their way by the church, went through Phoenicia and Samaria, giving news of the salvation of the Gentiles, to the great joy of all the brothers.

4And when they came to Jerusalem, they had a meeting with the church and the Apostles and the rulers, and they gave an account of all the things which God had done through them.

5But some of the Pharisees, who were of the faith, got up and said, It is necessary for these to have circumcision and to keep the law of Moses.

6And the Apostles and the rulers of the church came together and gave thought to the question.

7And when there had been much discussion, Peter got up and said to them, My brothers, you have knowledge that some time back it was God’s pleasure that by my mouth the good news might be given to the Gentiles so that they might have faith.

8And God, the searcher of hearts, was a witness to them, giving them the Holy Spirit even as he did to us;

9Making no division between them and us, but making clean their hearts by faith.

10Why then are you testing God, by putting on the neck of the disciples a yoke so hard that not even our fathers or we were strong enough for it?

11But we have faith that we will get salvation through the grace of the Lord Jesus in the same way as they.

12And all the people were quiet while Barnabas and Paul gave an account of the signs and wonders which God had done among the Gentiles by them.

13And when they had come to an end, James, answering, said, My brothers, give ear to me:

14Symeon has given an account of how God was first pleased to take from among the Gentiles a people for himself.

15And this is in agreement with the words of the prophets, as it is said,

16After these things I will come back, and will put up the tent of David which has been broken down, building up again its broken parts and making it complete:

17So that the rest of men may make search for the Lord, and all the Gentiles on whom my name is named,

18Says the Lord, who has made these things clear from the earliest times.

19For this reason my decision is, that we do not put trouble in the way of those who from among the Gentiles are turned to God;

20But that we give them orders to keep themselves from things offered to false gods, and from the evil desires of the body, and from the flesh of animals put to death in ways against the law, and from blood.

21For Moses, from times long past, has his preachers in every town, reading his law in the Synagogues every Sabbath.

23 days ago Short URL Comments

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23

Apr

April 23

Joshua 5:2-15

2At that time the Lord said to Joshua, Make yourself stone knives and give the children of Israel circumcision a second time.

3So Joshua made stone knives and gave the children of Israel circumcision at Gibeath-ha-araloth.

4And this is the reason why Joshua did so: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the fighting-men, had been overtaken by death in the waste land on the way, after they came out of Egypt.

5All the people who came out had undergone circumcision; but all the people whose birth had taken place in the waste land on their journey from Egypt had not.

6For the children of Israel were wandering in the waste land for forty years, till all the nation, that is, all the fighting-men, who had come out of Egypt, were dead, because they did not give ear to the voice of the Lord: to whom the Lord said, with an oath, that he would not let them see the land which the Lord had given his word to their fathers to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey.

7And their children, who came up in their place, now underwent circumcision by the hands of Joshua, not having had it before: for there had been no circumcision on the journey.

8So when all the nation had undergone circumcision, they kept in their tents till they were well again.

9And the Lord said to Joshua, Today the shame of Egypt has been rolled away from you. So that place was named Gilgal, to this day.

10So the children of Israel put up their tents in Gilgal; and they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month, in the evening, in the lowlands of Jericho.

11And on the day after the Passover, they had for their food the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and dry grain on the same day.

12And there was no more manna from the day after they had for their food the produce of the land; the children of Israel had manna no longer, but that year the produce of the land of Canaan was their food.

13Now when Joshua was near Jericho, lifting up his eyes he saw a man in front of him, with his sword uncovered in his hand: and Joshua went up to him and said, Are you for us or against us?

14And he said, No; but I have come as captain of the armies of the Lord. Then Joshua, falling down with his face to the earth in worship, said, What has my lord to say to his servant?

15And the captain of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, Take off your shoes from your feet, for the place where you are is holy. And Joshua did so.

Joshua 6

1(Now Jericho was all shut up because of the children of Israel: there was no going out or coming in.)

2And the Lord said to Joshua, See, I have given into your hands Jericho with its king and all its men of war.

3Now let all your fighting-men make a circle round the town, going all round it once. Do this for six days.

4And let seven priests go before the ark with seven loud-sounding horns in their hands: on the seventh day you are to go round the town seven times, the priests blowing their horns.

5And at the sound of a long note on the horns, let all the people give a loud cry; and the wall of the town will come down flat, and all the people are to go straight forward.

6Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent for the priests and said to them, Take up the ark of the agreement, and let seven priests take seven horns in their hands and go before the ark of the Lord.

7And he said to the people, Go forward, circling the town, and let the armed men go before the ark of the Lord.

8So after Joshua had said this to the people, the seven priests with their seven horns went forward before the Lord, blowing on their horns: and the ark of the Lord’s agreement went after them.

9And the armed men went before the priests who were blowing the horns, and the mass of the people went after the ark, blowing their horns.

10And to the people Joshua gave an order, saying, You will give no cry, and make no sound, and let no word go out of your mouth till the day when I say, Give a loud cry; then give a loud cry.

11So he made the ark of the Lord go all round the town once: then they went back to the tents for the night.

12And early in the morning Joshua got up, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord.

13And the seven priests with their seven horns went on before the ark of the Lord, blowing their horns: the armed men went before them, and the mass of the people went after the ark of the Lord, blowing their horns.

14The second day they went all round the town once, and then went back to their tents: and so they did for six days.

15Then on the seventh day they got up early, at the dawn of the day, and went round the town in the same way, but that day they went round it seven times.

16And the seventh time, at the sound of the priests’ horns, Joshua said to the people, Now give a loud cry; for the Lord has given you the town.

17And the town will be put to the curse, and everything in it will be given to the Lord: only Rahab, the loose woman, and all who are in the house with her, will be kept safe, because she kept secret the men we sent.

18And as for you, keep yourselves from the cursed thing, for fear that you may get a desire for it and take some of it for yourselves, and so be the cause of a curse and great trouble on the tents of Israel.

19But all the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron are holy to the Lord: they are to come into the store-house of the Lord.

20So the people gave a loud cry, and the horns were sounded; and on hearing the horns the people gave a loud cry, and the wall came down flat, so that the people went up into the town, every man going straight before him, and they took the town.

21And they put everything in the town to the curse; men and women, young and old, ox and sheep and ass, they put to death without mercy.

22Then Joshua said to the two men who had been sent to make a search through the land, Go into the house of the loose woman, and get her out, and all who are with her, as you gave her your oath.

23So the searchers went in and got out Rahab and her father and mother and her brothers and all she had, and they got out all her family; and they took them outside the tents of Israel.

24Then, after burning up the town and everything in it, they put the silver and gold and the vessels of brass and iron into the store-house of the Lord’s house.

25But Joshua kept Rahab, the loose woman, and her father’s family and all she had, from death, and so she got a living-place among the children of Israel to this day; because she kept safe the men whom Joshua had sent to make a search through the land.

26Then Joshua gave the people orders with an oath, saying, Let that man be cursed before the Lord who puts his hand to the building up of this town: with the loss of his first son will he put the first stone of it in place, and with the loss of his youngest son he will put up its doors.

27So the Lord was with Joshua; and news of him went through all the land.

Job 23

1And Job made answer and said,

2Even today my outcry is bitter; his hand is hard on my sorrow.

3If only I had knowledge of where he might be seen, so that I might come even to his seat!

4I would put my cause in order before him, and my mouth would be full of arguments.

5I would see what his answers would be, and have knowledge of what he would say to me.

6Would he make use of his great power to overcome me? No, but he would give attention to me.

7There an upright man might put his cause before him; and I would be free for ever from my judge.

8See, I go forward, but he is not there; and back, but I do not see him;

9I am looking for him on the left hand, but there is no sign of him; and turning to the right, I am not able to see him.

10For he has knowledge of the way I take; after I have been tested I will come out like gold.

11My feet have gone in his steps; I have kept in his way, without turning to one side or to the other.

12I have never gone against the orders of his lips; the words of his mouth have been stored up in my heart.

13But his purpose is fixed and there is no changing it; and he gives effect to the desire of his soul.

14For what has been ordered for me by him will be gone through to the end: and his mind is full of such designs.

15For this cause I am in fear before him, my thoughts of him overcome me.

16For God has made my heart feeble, and my mind is troubled before the Ruler of all.

17For I am overcome by the dark, and by the black night which is covering my face.

Acts 9:26-43

26And when he came to Jerusalem, he made an attempt to be joined to the disciples, but they were all in fear of him, not taking him for a disciple.

27But Barnabas took him to the Apostles and gave them an account of how he had seen the Lord on the road, and had given hearing to his words, and how at Damascus he had been preaching in the name of Jesus without fear.

28And he was with them, going in and out at Jerusalem,

29Preaching in the name of the Lord without fear; and he had discussions with the Greek Jews; but they were working for his death.

30And when the brothers had knowledge of it, they took him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus.

31And so the church through all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was made strong; and, living in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was increased greatly.

32And it came about that while Peter was going through all parts of the country he came to the saints who were living at Lydda.

33And there was a certain man there, named Aeneas, who for eight years had been in bed, without power of moving.

34And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you well: get up and make your bed. And straight away he got up.

35And all those living in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and were turned to the Lord.

36Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, that is, Dorcas: this woman was given to good works and acts of mercy at all times.

37And it came about, in those days, that she got ill and came to her death: and when she had been washed, they put her in a room which was high up.

38And because Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having knowledge that Peter was there, sent two men to him, requesting him to come to them straight away.

39And Peter went with them. And when he had come, they took him into the room: and all the widows were there, weeping and putting before him the coats and clothing which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

40But Peter made them all go outside, and went down on his knees in prayer; and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, get up. And, opening her eyes, she saw Peter and got up.

41And he took her hand, lifting her up; and, sending for the saints and widows, he gave her to them, living.

42And news of it went all through Joppa, and a number of people had faith in the Lord.

43And he was living in Joppa for some time with Simon, a leather-worker.

32 days ago Short URL Comments

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21

Apr

April 21

Joshua 1

1Now after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, the word of the Lord came to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses’ helper, saying,

2Moses my servant is dead; so now get up! Go over Jordan, you and all this people, into the land which I am giving to them, to the children of Israel.

3Every place on which you put your foot I have given to you, as I said to Moses.

4From the waste land and this mountain Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, and all the land of the Hittites to the Great Sea, in the west, will be your country.

5While you are living, all will give way before you: as I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will not take away my help from you or give you up.

6Take heart and be strong; for you will give to this people for their heritage the land which I gave by an oath to their fathers.

7Only take heart and be very strong; take care to do all the law which Moses my servant gave you, not turning from it to the right hand or to the left, so that you may do well in all your undertakings.

8Let this book of the law be ever on your lips and in your thoughts day and night, so that you may keep with care everything in it; then a blessing will be on all your way, and you will do well.

9Have I not given you your orders? Take heart and be strong; have no fear and do not be troubled; for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,

10Then Joshua gave their orders to those who were in authority over the people, saying,

11Go through the tents and give orders to the people, saying, Get ready a store of food; for in three days you are to go over this river Jordan and take for your heritage the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

12And to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said,

13Keep in mind what Moses, the servant of the Lord, said to you, The Lord your God is sending you rest and will give you this land.

14Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle will be kept here in the land which Moses gave you on this side of Jordan; but you, the fighting-men, are to go over before your brothers, armed, to give them help;

15Till the Lord has given your brothers rest, as he has given it to you, and they have taken their heritage in the land which the Lord your God is giving them: then you will go back to the land of your heritage which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you on the east side of Jordan.

16Then they said to Joshua in answer, Whatever you say to us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

17As we gave attention to Moses in all things, so we will give attention to you: and may the Lord your God be with you as he was with Moses.

18Whoever goes against your orders, and does not give attention to all your words, will be put to death: only take heart and be strong.

Joshua 2

1Then Joshua, the son of Nun, sent two men from Shittim secretly, with the purpose of searching out the land, and Jericho. So they went and came to the house of a loose woman of the town, named Rahab, where they took their rest for the night.

2And it was said to the king of Jericho, See, some men have come here tonight from the children of Israel with the purpose of searching out the land.

3Then the king of Jericho sent to Rahab, saying, Send out the men who have come to you and are in your house; for they have come with the purpose of searching out all the land.

4And the woman took the two men and put them in a secret place; then she said, Yes, the men came to me, but I had no idea where they came from;

5And when it was the time for shutting the doors at dark, they went out; I have no idea where the men went: but if you go after them quickly, you will overtake them.

6But she had taken them up to the roof, covering them with the stems of flax which she had put out in order there.

7So the men went after them on the road to Jordan as far as the river-crossing: and when they had gone out after them, the door into the town was shut.

8And before the men went to rest, she came up to them on the roof,

9And said to them, It is clear to me that the Lord has given you the land, and that the fear of you has come on us;

10For we have had news of how the Lord made the Red Sea dry before you when you came out of Egypt; and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites, on the other side of Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you gave up to the curse.

11And because of this news, our hearts became like water, and there was no more spirit in any of us because of you; for the Lord your God is God in heaven on high and here on earth.

12So now, will you give me your oath by the Lord, that, because I have been kind to you, you will be kind to my father’s house,

13And that you will keep safe my father and mother and my brothers and sisters and all they have, so that death may not come on us?

14And the men said to her, Our life for yours if you keep our business secret; and when the Lord has given us the land, we will keep faith and be kind to you.

15Then she let them down from the window by a cord, for the house where she was living was on the town wall.

16And she said to them, Get away into the hill-country, or the men who have gone after you will overtake you; keep yourselves safe there for three days, till the searchers have come back, and then go on your way.

17And the men said to her, We will only be responsible for this oath which you have made us take,

18If, when we come into the land, you put this cord of bright red thread in the window from which you let us down; and get your father and mother and your brothers and all your family into the house;

19Then if anyone goes out of your house into the street, his blood will be on his head, we will not be responsible; but if any damage comes to anyone in the house, his blood will be on our heads.

20But if you say anything about our business here, then we will be free from the oath you have made us take.

21And she said, Let it be as you say. Then she sent them away, and they went; and she put the bright red cord in the window.

22And they went into the hill-country and were there three days, till the men who had gone after them had come back; and those who went after them were searching for them everywhere without coming across them.

23Then the two men came down from the hill-country and went over and came back to Joshua, the son of Nun; and they gave him a complete account of what had taken place.

24And they said to Joshua, Truly, the Lord has given all the land into our hands; and all the people of the land have become like water because of us.

Job 21

1Then Job made answer and said,

2Give attention with care to my words; and let this be your comfort.

3Let me say what is in my mind, and after that, go on making sport of me.

4As for me, is my outcry against man? is it then to be wondered at if my spirit is troubled?

5Take note of me and be full of wonder, put your hand on your mouth.

6At the very thought of it my flesh is shaking with fear.

7Why is life given to the evil-doers? why do they become old and strong in power?

8Their children are ever with them, and their offspring before their eyes.

9Their houses are free from fear, and the rod of God does not come on them.

10Their ox is ready at all times to give seed; their cow gives birth, without dropping her young.

11They send out their young ones like a flock, and their children have pleasure in the dance,

12They make songs to the instruments of music, and are glad at the sound of the pipe.

13Their days come to an end without trouble, and suddenly they go down to the underworld.

14Though they said to God, Go away from us, for we have no desire for the knowledge of your ways.

15What is the Ruler of all, that we may give him worship? and what profit is it to us to make prayer to him?

16Truly, is not their well-being in their power? (The purpose of the evil-doers is far from me.)

17How frequently is the light of the evil-doers put out, or does trouble come on them? how frequently does his wrath take them with cords?

18How frequently are they as dry stems before the wind, or as grass taken away by the storm-wind?

19You say, God keeps punishment stored up for his children. Let him send it on the man himself, so that he may have the punishment of it!

20Let his eyes see his trouble, and let him be full of the wrath of the Ruler of all!

21For what interest has he in his house after him, when the number of his months is ended?

22Is anyone able to give teaching to God? for he is the judge of those who are on high.

23One comes to his end in complete well-being, full of peace and quiet:

24His buckets are full of milk, and there is no loss of strength in his bones.

25And another comes to his end with a bitter soul, without ever tasting good.

26Together they go down to the dust, and are covered by the worm.

27See, I am conscious of your thoughts, and of your violent purposes against me;

28For you say, Where is the house of the ruler, and where is the tent of the evil-doer?

29Have you not put the question to the travellers, and do you not take note of their experience?

30How the evil man goes free in the day of trouble, and has salvation in the day of wrath?

31Who will make his way clear to his face? and if he has done a thing, who gives him punishment for it?

32He is taken to his last resting-place, and keeps watch over it.

33The earth of the valley covering his bones is sweet to him, and all men come after him, as there were unnumbered before him.

34Why then do you give me comfort with words in which there is no profit, when you see that there is nothing in your answers but deceit?

Acts 8:26-40

26But an angel of the Lord said to Philip, Get up, and go to the south, to the road which goes from Jerusalem to Gaza, through the waste land.

27And he went and there was a man of Ethiopia, a servant of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, and controller of all her property, who had come up to Jerusalem for worship;

28He was going back, seated in his carriage, and was reading the book of the prophet Isaiah.

29And the Spirit said to Philip, Go near, and get on his carriage.

30And Philip, running up to him, saw that he was reading Isaiah the prophet, and said to him, Is the sense of what you are reading clear to you?

31And he said, How is that possible when I have no guide? And he made Philip get up by his side.

32Now the place in the book where he was reading was this: He was taken, like a sheep, to be put to death; and as a lamb is quiet when its wool is being cut, so he made no sound:

33Being of low degree, his cause was not given a hearing: who has knowledge of his family? for his life is cut off from the earth.

34And the Ethiopian said to Philip, About whom are these words said by the prophet? about himself, or some other?

35So Philip, starting from this writing, gave him the good news about Jesus.

36And while they were going on their way, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, See, here is water; why may I not have baptism?

38And he gave orders for the carriage to be stopped, and the two of them went down into the water, and Philip gave him baptism.

39And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord took Philip away; and the Ethiopian saw him no more, for he went on his way full of joy.

40But Philip came to Azotus, and went through all the towns, preaching the good news, till he came to Caesarea.

34 days ago Short URL Comments

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18

Apr

April 18

Deuteronomy 29

1These are the words of the agreement which Moses was ordered by the Lord to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, in addition to the agreement which he made with them in Horeb.

2And Moses said in the hearing of all Israel, You have seen all the Lord did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh and to all his servants and all his land;

3The great tests which your eyes saw, and the signs and wonders:

4But even to this day the Lord has not given you a mind open to knowledge, or seeing eyes or hearing ears.

5For forty years I have been your guide through the waste land: your clothing has not become old on your backs, or your shoes on your feet.

6You have had no bread, or wine, or strong drink: so that you might see that I am the Lord your God.

7When you came to this place, Sihon, king of Heshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, came out to make war against us and we overcame them:

8And we took their land and gave it to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, for their heritage.

9So keep the words of this agreement and do them, so that it may be well for you in everything you do.

10You have come here today, all of you, before the Lord your God; the heads of your tribes, the overseers, and those who are in authority over you, with all the men of Israel,

11And your little ones, your wives, and the men of other lands who are with you in your tents, down to the wood-cutter and the servant who gets water for you:

12With the purpose of taking part in the agreement of the Lord your God, and his oath which he makes with you today:

13And so that he may make you his people today, and be your God, as he has said to you, and as he made an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

14And not with you only do I make this agreement and this oath;

15But with everyone who is here with us today before the Lord our God, as well as with those who are not here:

16(For you have in mind how we were living in the land of Egypt; and how we came through all the nations which were on your way;

17And you have seen their disgusting doings, and the images of wood and stone and silver and gold which were among them:)

18So that there may not be among you any man or woman or family or tribe whose heart is turned away from the Lord our God today, to go after other gods and give them worship; or any root among you whose fruit is poison and bitter sorrow;

19If such a man, hearing the words of this oath, takes comfort in the thought that he will have peace even if he goes on in the pride of his heart, taking whatever chance may give him:

20The Lord will have no mercy on him, but the wrath of the Lord will be burning against that man, and all the curses recorded in this book will be waiting for him, and the Lord will take away his name completely from the earth.

21He will be marked out by the Lord, from all the tribes of Israel, for an evil fate, in keeping with all the curses of the agreement recorded in this book of the law.

22And future generations, your children coming after you, and travellers from far countries, will say, when they see the punishments of that land and the diseases which the Lord has sent on it;

23And that all the land is a salt and smoking waste, not planted or giving fruit or clothed with grass, but wasted like Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, on which the Lord sent destruction in the heat of his wrath:

24Truly all the nations will say, Why has the Lord done so to this land? what is the reason for this great and burning wrath?

25Then men will say, Because they gave up the agreement of the Lord, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he took them out of the land of Egypt:

26And they went after other gods and gave them worship, gods who were strange to them, and whom he had not given them:

27And so the wrath of the Lord was moved against this land, to send on it all the curse recorded in this book:

28Rooting them out of their land, in the heat of his wrath and passion, and driving them out into another land, as at this day.

29The secret things are the Lord our God’s: but the things which have been made clear are ours and our children’s for ever, so that we may do all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 30

1Now when all these things have come on you, the blessing and the curse which I have put before you, if the thought of them comes back to your minds, when you are living among the nations where the Lord your God has sent you,

2And your hearts are turned again to the Lord your God, and you give ear to his word which I give you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul:

3Then the Lord will have pity on you, changing your fate, and taking you back again from among all the nations where you have been forced to go.

4Even if those who have been forced out are living in the farthest part of heaven, the Lord your God will go in search of you, and take you back;

5Placing you again in the land of your fathers as your heritage; and he will do you good, increasing you till you are more in number than your fathers were.

6And the Lord your God will give to you and to your seed a circumcision of the heart, so that, loving him with all your heart and all your soul, you may have life.

7And the Lord your God will put all these curses on those who are against you, and on your haters who put a cruel yoke on you.

8And you will again give ear to the voice of the Lord, and do all his orders which I have given you today.

9And the Lord your God will make you fertile in all good things, blessing the work of your hands, and the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your land: for the Lord will have joy in you, as he had in your fathers:

10If you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, keeping his orders and his laws which are recorded in this book of the law, and turning to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.

11For these orders which I have given you today are not strange and secret, and are not far away.

12They are not in heaven, for you to say, Who will go up to heaven for us and give us knowledge of them so that we may do them?

13And they are not across the sea, for you to say, Who will go over the sea for us and give us news of them so that we may do them?

14But the word is very near you, in your mouth and in your heart, so that you may do it.

15See, I have put before you today, life and good, and death and evil;

16In giving you orders today to have love for the Lord your God, to go in his ways and keep his laws and his orders and his decisions, so that you may have life and be increased, and that the blessing of the Lord your God may be with you in the land where you are going, the land of your heritage.

17But if your heart is turned away and your ear is shut, and you go after those who would make you servants and worshippers of other gods:

18I give witness against you this day that destruction will certainly be your fate, and your days will be cut short in the land where you are going, the land of your heritage on the other side of Jordan.

19Let heaven and earth be my witnesses against you this day that I have put before you life and death, a blessing and a curse: so take life for yourselves and for your seed:

20In loving the Lord your God, hearing his voice and being true to him: for he is your life and by him will your days be long: so that you may go on living in the land which the Lord gave by an oath to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

Job 18

1Then Bildad the Shuhite made answer and said,

2How long will it be before you have done talking? Get wisdom, and then we will say what is in our minds.

3Why do we seem as beasts in your eyes, and as completely without knowledge?

4But come back, now, come: you who are wounding yourself in your passion, will the earth be given up because of you, or a rock be moved out of its place?

5For the light of the sinner is put out, and the flame of his fire is not shining.

6The light is dark in his tent, and the light shining over him is put out.

7The steps of his strength become short, and by his design destruction overtakes him.

8His feet take him into the net, and he goes walking into the cords.

9His foot is taken in the net; he comes into its grip.

10The twisted cord is put secretly in the earth to take him, and the cord is placed in his way.

11He is overcome by fears on every side, they go after him at every step.

12His strength is made feeble for need of food, and destruction is waiting for his falling footstep.

13His skin is wasted by disease, and his body is food for the worst of diseases.

14He is pulled out of his tent where he was safe, and he is taken away to the king of fears.

15In his tent will be seen that which is not his, burning stone is dropped on his house.

16Under the earth his roots are dry, and over it his branch is cut off.

17His memory is gone from the earth, and in the open country there is no knowledge of his name.

18He is sent away from the light into the dark; he is forced out of the world.

19He has no offspring or family among his people, and in his living-place there is no one of his name.

20At his fate those of the west are shocked, and those of the east are overcome with fear.

21Truly, these are the houses of the sinner, and this is the place of him who has no knowledge of God.

Acts 7:1-22

1Then the high priest said, Are these things true?

2And he said, My brothers and fathers, give hearing. The God of glory came to our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia, before he was living in Haran,

3And said to him, Go out of your land, and away from your family, and come into the land to which I will be your guide.

4Then he came out of the land of the Chaldaeans, and went into Haran; and from there, when his father was dead, he was guided by God into this land, where you are living now:

5And God gave him no heritage in it, not even enough to put his foot on: but he gave him an undertaking that he would give it to him and to his children after him, though he had no child at that time.

6And God said that his seed would be living in a strange land, and that they would make them servants, and be cruel to them for four hundred years.

7And I will be the judge, said God, of that nation which made them servants: and after that, they will come out and give me worship in this place.

8And he made with him the agreement of which circumcision was the sign. And so Abraham had a son, Isaac, and gave him circumcision on the eighth day; and Isaac had a son, Jacob, and Jacob was the father of the twelve heads of the families of Israel.

9And the brothers, moved with envy against Joseph, gave him to the Egyptians for money: but God was with him,

10And made him free from all his troubles, and gave him wisdom and the approval of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and all his house.

11Now there was no food to be had in all Egypt and Canaan, and there was great trouble: and our fathers were not able to get food.

12But Jacob, hearing that there was grain in Egypt, sent out our fathers the first time.

13And the second time his brothers had a meeting with Joseph, and Pharaoh had knowledge of Joseph’s family.

14Then Joseph sent for Jacob his father and all his family, seventy-five persons.

15And Jacob went down to Egypt, and came to his end there, and so did our fathers;

16And they were taken over to Shechem, and put to rest in the place which Abraham got for a price in silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17But when the time was near for putting into effect the undertaking which God had given to Abraham, the people were increasing in Egypt,

18Till another king came to power, who had no knowledge of Joseph.

19He, having evil designs against our nation, was cruel to our fathers, and they were forced to put out their young children, so that they might not go on living.

20At which time Moses came to birth, and he was very beautiful; and he was kept for three months in his father’s house:

21And when he was put out, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and kept him as her son.

22And Moses was trained in all the wisdom of Egypt, and was great in his words and works.

37 days ago Short URL 3 Comments

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17

Apr

April 17

Deuteronomy 28

1Now if you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and keep with care all these orders which I have given you today, then the Lord your God will put you high over all the nations of the earth:

2And all these blessings will come on you and overtake you, if your ears are open to the voice of the Lord your God.

3A blessing will be on you in the town, and a blessing in the field.

4A blessing will be on the fruit of your body, and on the fruit of your land, on the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herd, and the young of your flock.

5A blessing will be on your basket and on your bread-basin.

6A blessing will be on your coming in and on your going out.

7By the power of the Lord, those who take arms against you will be overcome before you: they will come out against you one way, and will go in flight from you seven ways.

8The Lord will send his blessing on your store-houses and on everything to which you put your hand: his blessing will be on you in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

9The Lord will keep you as a people holy to himself, as he has said to you in his oath, if you keep the orders of the Lord your God and go on walking in his ways.

10And all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of the Lord is on you, and they will go in fear of you.

11And the Lord will make you fertile in every good thing, in the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your cattle, and the fruit of your fields, in the land which the Lord, by his oath to your fathers, said he would give you.

12Opening his store-house in heaven, the Lord will send rain on your land at the right time, blessing all the work of your hands: other nations will make use of your wealth, and you will have no need of theirs.

13The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; and you will ever have the highest place, if you give ear to the orders of the Lord your God which I give you today, to keep and to do them;

14Not turning away from any of the orders which I give you today, to the right hand or to the left, or going after any other gods to give them worship.

15But if you do not give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and take care to do all his orders and his laws which I give you today, then all these curses will come on you and overtake you:

16You will be cursed in the town and cursed in the field.

17A curse will be on your basket and on your bread-basin.

18A curse will be on the fruit of your body, and on the fruit of your land, on the increase of your cattle, and the young of your flock.

19You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.

20The Lord will send on you cursing and trouble and punishment in everything to which you put your hand, till sudden destruction overtakes you; because of your evil ways in which you have been false to me.

21The Lord will send disease after disease on you, till you have been cut off by death from the land to which you are going.

22The Lord will send wasting disease, and burning pain, and flaming heat against you, keeping back the rain till your land is waste and dead; so will it be till your destruction is complete.

23And the heaven over your heads will be brass, and the earth under you hard as iron.

24The Lord will make the rain of your land powder and dust, sending it down on you from heaven till your destruction is complete.

25The Lord will let you be overcome by your haters: you will go out against them one way, and you will go in flight before them seven ways: you will be the cause of fear among all the kingdoms of the earth.

26Your bodies will be meat for all the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth; there will be no one to send them away.

27The Lord will send on you the disease of Egypt, and other sorts of skin diseases which nothing will make well.

28He will make your minds diseased, and your eyes blind, and your hearts wasted with fear:

29You will go feeling your way when the sun is high, like a blind man for whom all is dark, and nothing will go well for you: you will be crushed and made poor for ever, and you will have no saviour.

30You will take a wife, but another man will have the use of her: the house which your hands have made will never be your resting-place: you will make a vine-garden, and never take the fruit of it.

31Your ox will be put to death before your eyes, but its flesh will not be your food: your ass will be violently taken away before your face, and will not be given back to you: your sheep will be given to your haters, and there will be no saviour for you.

32Your sons and your daughters will be given to another people, and your eyes will be wasted away with looking and weeping for them all the day: and you will have no power to do anything.

33The fruit of your land and all the work of your hands will be food for a nation which is strange to you and to your fathers; you will only be crushed down and kept under for ever:

34So that the things which your eyes have to see will send you out of your minds.

35The Lord will send a skin disease, attacking your knees and your legs, bursting out from your feet to the top of your head, so that nothing will make you well.

36And you, and the king whom you have put over you, will the Lord take away to a nation strange to you and to your fathers; there you will be servants to other gods of wood and stone.

37And you will become a wonder and a name of shame among all the nations where the Lord will take you.

38You will take much seed out into the field, and get little in; for the locust will get it.

39You will put in vines and take care of them, but you will get no wine or grapes from them; for they will be food for worms.

40Your land will be full of olive-trees, but there will be no oil for the comfort of your body; for your olive-tree will give no fruit.

41You will have sons and daughters, but they will not be yours; for they will go away prisoners into a strange land.

42All your trees and the fruit of your land will be the locust’s.

43The man from a strange land who is living among you will be lifted up higher and higher over you, while you go down lower and lower.

44He will let you have his wealth at interest, and will have no need of yours: he will be the head and you the tail.

45And all these curses will come after you and overtake you, till your destruction is complete; because you did not give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, or keep his laws and his orders which he gave you:

46These things will come on you and on your seed, to be a sign and a wonder for ever;

47Because you did not give honour to the Lord your God, worshipping him gladly, with joy in your hearts on account of all your wealth of good things;

48For this cause you will become servants to those whom the Lord your God will send against you, without food and drink and clothing, and in need of all things: and he will put a yoke of iron on your neck till he has put an end to you.

49The Lord will send a nation against you from the farthest ends of the earth, coming with the flight of an eagle; a nation whose language is strange to you;

50A hard-faced nation, who will have no respect for the old or mercy for the young:

51He will take the fruit of your cattle and of your land till death puts an end to you: he will let you have nothing of your grain or wine or oil or any of the increase of your cattle or the young of your flock, till he has made your destruction complete.

52Your towns will be shut in by his armies, till your high walls, in which you put your faith, have come down: his armies will be round your towns, through all your land which the Lord your God has given you.

53And your food will be the fruit of your body, the flesh of the sons and daughters which the Lord your God has given you; because of your bitter need and the cruel grip of your haters.

54That man among you who is soft and used to comfort will be hard and cruel to his brother, and to his dear wife, and to of those his children who are still living;

55And will not give to any of them the flesh of his children which will be his food because he has no other; in the cruel grip of your haters on all your towns.

56The most soft and delicate of your women, who would not so much as put her foot on the earth, so delicate is she, will be hard-hearted to her husband and to her son and to her daughter;

57And to her baby newly come to birth, and to the children of her body; for having no other food, she will make a meal of them secretly, because of her bitter need and the cruel grip of your haters on all your towns.

58If you will not take care to do all the words of this law, recorded in this book, honouring that name of glory and of fear, THE LORD YOUR GOD;

59Then the Lord your God will make your punishment, and the punishment of your seed, a thing to be wondered at; great punishments and cruel diseases stretching on through long years.

60He will send on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which were a cause of fear to you, and they will take you in their grip.

61And all the diseases and the pains not recorded in the book of this law will the Lord send on you till your destruction is complete.

62And you will become a very small band, though your numbers were like the stars of heaven; because you did not give ear to the voice of the Lord your God.

63And as the Lord took delight in doing you good and increasing you, so the Lord will take pleasure in cutting you off and causing your destruction, and you will be uprooted from the land which you are about to take as your heritage.

64And the Lord will send you wandering among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other: there you will be servants to other gods, of wood and stone, gods of which you and your fathers had no knowledge.

65And even among these nations there will be no peace for you, and no rest for your feet: but the Lord will give you there a shaking heart and wasting eyes and weariness of soul:

66Your very life will be hanging in doubt before you, and day and night will be dark with fears, and nothing in life will be certain:

67In the morning you will say, If only it was evening! And at evening you will say, If only morning would come! Because of the fear in your hearts and the things which your eyes will see.

68And the Lord will take you back to Egypt again in ships, by the way of which I said to you, You will never see it again: there you will be offering yourselves as men-servants and women-servants to your haters for a price, and no man will take you.

Job 17

1My spirit is broken, my days are ended, the last resting-place is ready for me.

2Truly, those who make sport of me are round about me, and my eyes become dark because of their bitter laughing.

3Be pleased, now, to be responsible for me to yourself; for there is no other who will put his hand in mine.

4You have kept their hearts from wisdom: for this cause you will not give them honour.

5As for him who is false to his friend for a reward, light will be cut off from the eyes of his children.

6He has made me a word of shame to the peoples; I have become a mark for their sport.

7My eyes have become dark because of my pain, and all my body is wasted to a shade.

8The upright are surprised at this, and he who has done no wrong is troubled because of the evil-doers.

9Still the upright keeps on his way, and he who has clean hands gets new strength.

10But come back, now, all of you, come; and I will not see a wise man among you.

11My days are past, my purposes are broken off, even the desires of my heart.

12They are changing night into day; they say, The light is near the dark.

13If I am waiting for the underworld as my house, if I have made my bed in the dark;

14If I say to the earth, You are my father; and to the worm, My mother and my sister;

15Where then is my hope? and who will see my desire?

16Will they go down with me into the underworld? Will we go down together into the dust?

Acts 6

1Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was increasing, protests were made by the Greek Jews against the Hebrews, because their widows were not taken care of in the distribution of food every day.

2And the Apostles sent for all the disciples and said, It is not right for us to give up preaching the word of God in order to make distribution of food.

3Take then from among you seven men of good name, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, to whom we may give control of this business.

4Then we will give all our time to prayer and the teaching of the word.

5And this saying was pleasing to all of them: and they made selection of Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip and Prochorus and Nicanor and Timon and Parmenas and Nicolas of Antioch, who had become a Jew:

6These they took to the Apostles, who, after prayer, put their hands on them.

7And the word of God was increasing in power; and the number of the disciples in Jerusalem became very great, and a great number of priests were in agreement with the faith.

8And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people.

9But some of those who were of the Synagogue named that of the Libertines, and some of the men of Cyrene and of Alexandria and those from Cilicia and Asia, had arguments with Stephen.

10But they were not able to get the better of him, for his words were full of wisdom and of the Spirit.

11Then they got men to say, He has said evil against Moses and against God, in our hearing.

12And the people, with the rulers and the scribes, were moved against him, and they came and took him before the Sanhedrin,

13And they got false witnesses who said, This man is for ever saying things against this holy place and against the law:

14For he has said in our hearing that this Jesus of Nazareth will put this place to destruction and make changes in the rules which were handed down to us by Moses.

15And all those who were in the Sanhedrin, looking at him, saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

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16

Apr

April 16

Deuteronomy 25

1If there is an argument between men and they go to law with one another, let the judges give their decision for the upright, and against the wrongdoer.

2And if the wrongdoer is to undergo punishment by whipping, the judge will give orders for him to go down on his face and be whipped before him, the number of the blows being in relation to his crime.

3He may be given forty blows, not more; for if more are given, your brother may be shamed before you.

4Do not keep the ox from taking the grain when he is crushing it.

5If brothers are living together and one of them, at his death, has no son, the wife of the dead man is not to be married outside the family to another man: let her husband’s brother go in to her and make her his wife, doing as it is right for a brother-in-law to do.

6Then the first male child she has will take the rights of the brother who is dead, so that his name may not come to an end in Israel.

7But if the man says he will not take his brother’s wife, then let the wife go to the responsible men of the town, and say, My husband’s brother will not keep his brother’s name living in Israel; he will not do what it is right for a husband’s brother to do.

8Then the responsible men of the town will send for the man, and have talk with him: and if he still says, I will not take her;

9Then his brother’s wife is to come to him, before the responsible men of the town, and take his shoe off his foot, and put shame on him, and say, So let it be done to the man who will not take care of his brother’s name.

10And his family will be named in Israel, The house of him whose shoe has been taken off.

11If two men are fighting, and the wife of one of them, coming to the help of her husband, takes the other by the private parts;

12Her hand is to be cut off; have no pity on her.

13Do not have in your bag different weights, a great and a small;

14Or in your house different measures, a great and a small.

15But have a true weight and a true measure: so that your life may be long in the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

16For all who do such things, and all whose ways are not upright, are disgusting to the Lord your God.

17Keep in mind what Amalek did to you on your way from Egypt;

18How, meeting you on the way, he made an attack on you when you were tired and without strength, cutting off all the feeble ones at the end of your line; and the fear of God was not in him.

19So when the Lord your God has given you rest from all who are against you on every side, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage, see to it that the memory of Amalek is cut off from the earth; keep this in mind.

Deuteronomy 26

1Now when you have come into the land which the Lord is giving you for your heritage, and you have made it yours and are living in it;

2You are to take a part of the first-fruits of the earth, which you get from the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket, and go to the place marked out by the Lord your God, as the resting-place of his name.

3And you are to come to him who is priest at that time, and say to him, I give witness today before the Lord your God, that I have come into the land which the Lord made an oath to our fathers to give us.

4Then the priest will take the basket from your hand and put it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God.

5And these are the words which you will say before the Lord your God: My father was a wandering Aramaean, and he went down with a small number of people into Egypt; there he became a great and strong nation:

6And the Egyptians were cruel to us, crushing us under a hard yoke:

7And our cry went up to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord’s ear was open to the voice of our cry, and his eyes took note of our grief and the crushing weight of our work:

8And the Lord took us out of Egypt with a strong hand and a stretched-out arm, with works of power and signs and wonders:

9And he has been our guide to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.

10So now, I have come here with the first of the fruits of the earth which you, O Lord, have given me. Then you will put it down before the Lord your God and give him worship:

11And you will have joy in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and to your family; and the Levite, and the man from a strange land who is with you, will take part in your joy.

12When you have taken out a tenth from the tenth of all your produce in the third year, which is the year when this has to be done, give it to the Levite, and the man from a strange land, and the child without a father, and the widow, so that they may have food in your towns and be full;

13And say before the Lord your God, I have taken all the holy things out of my house and have given them to the Levite, and the man from a strange land, and him who has no father, and the widow, as you have given me orders: I have kept in mind all your orders, in nothing have I gone against them:

14No part of these things has been used for food in a time of weeping, or put away when I was unclean, or given for the dead: I have given ear to the voice of the Lord my God, and have done all you have given me orders to do.

15So, looking down from your holy place in heaven, send your blessing on your people Israel and on the land which you have given us, as you said in your oath to our fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey.

16Today the Lord your God gives you orders to keep all these laws and decisions: so then keep and do them with all your heart and all your soul.

17Today you have given witness that the Lord is your God, and that you will go in his ways and keep his laws and his orders and his decisions and give ear to his voice:

18And the Lord has made it clear this day that you are a special people to him, as he gave you his word; and that you are to keep all his orders;

19And that he will make you high over all the nations he has made, in praise, in name, and in honour, and that you are to be a holy people to the Lord your God as he has said.

Deuteronomy 27

1Then Moses and the responsible men of Israel gave the people these orders: Keep all the orders which I have given you this day;

2And on the day when you go over Jordan into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, put up great stones, coating them with building-paste,

3And writing on them all the words of this law, after you have gone over; so that you may take the heritage which the Lord your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has said.

4And when you have gone over Jordan, you are to put up these stones, as I have said to you today, in Mount Ebal, and have them coated with building-paste.

5There you are to make an altar to the Lord your God, of stones on which no iron instrument has been used.

6You are to make the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones; offering on it burned offerings to the Lord your God:

7And you are to make your peace-offerings, feasting there with joy before the Lord your God.

8And put on the stones all the words of this law, writing them very clearly.

9Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, said to all Israel, Be quiet and give ear, O Israel; today you have become the people of the Lord your God.

10For this cause you are to give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and do his orders and his laws which I give you this day.

11That same day Moses said to the people,

12These are to take their places on Mount Gerizim for blessing the people when you have gone over Jordan: Simeon and Levi and Judah and Issachar and Joseph and Benjamin;

13And these are to be on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

14Then the Levites are to say in a loud voice to all the men of Israel,

15Cursed is the man who makes any image of wood or stone or metal, disgusting to the Lord, the work of man’s hands, and puts it up in secret. And let all the people say, So be it.

16Cursed is he who does not give honour to his father or mother. And let all the people say, So be it.

17Cursed is he who takes his neighbour’s landmark from its place. And let all the people say, So be it.

18Cursed is he by whom the blind are turned out of the way. And let all the people say, So be it.

19Cursed is he who gives a wrong decision in the cause of a man from a strange land, or of one without a father, or of a widow. And let all the people say, So be it.

20Cursed is he who has sex relations with his father’s wife, for he has put shame on his father. And let all the people say, So be it.

21Cursed is he who has sex relations with any sort of beast. And let all the people say, So be it.

22Cursed is he who has sex relations with his sister, the daughter of his father or of his mother. And let all the people say, So be it.

23Cursed is he who has sex relations with his mother-in-law. And let all the people say, So be it.

24Cursed is he who takes his neighbour’s life secretly. And let all the people say, So be it.

25Cursed is he who for a reward puts to death one who has done no wrong. And let all the people say, So be it.

26Cursed is he who does not take this law to heart to do it. And let all the people say, So be it.

Job 16

1And Job made answer and said,

2Such things have frequently come to my ears: you are comforters who only give trouble.

3May words which are like the wind be stopped? or what is troubling you to make answer to them?

4It would not be hard for me to say such things if your souls were in my soul’s place; joining words together against you, and shaking my head at you:

5I might give you strength with my mouth, and not keep back the comfort of my lips.

6If I say what is in my mind, my pain becomes no less: and if I keep quiet, how much of it goes from me?

7But now he has overcome me with weariness and fear, and I am in the grip of all my trouble.

8It has come up as a witness against me, and the wasting of my flesh makes answer to my face.

9I am broken by his wrath, and his hate has gone after me; he has made his teeth sharp against me: my haters are looking on me with cruel eyes;

10Their mouths are open wide against me; the blows of his bitter words are falling on my face; all of them come together in a mass against me.

11God gives me over to the power of sinners, sending me violently into the hands of evil-doers.

12I was in comfort, but I have been broken up by his hands; he has taken me by the neck, shaking me to bits; he has put me up as a mark for his arrows.

13His bowmen come round about me; their arrows go through my body without mercy; my life is drained out on the earth.

14I am broken with wound after wound; he comes rushing on me like a man of war.

15I have made haircloth the clothing of my skin, and my horn is rolled in the dust.

16My face is red with weeping, and my eyes are becoming dark;

17Though my hands have done no violent acts, and my prayer is clean.

18O earth, let not my blood be covered, and let my cry have no resting-place!

19Even now my witness is in heaven, and the supporter of my cause is on high.

20My friends make sport of me; to God my eyes are weeping,

21So that he may give decision for a man in his cause with God, and between a son of man and his neighbour.

22For in a short time I will take the journey from which I will not come back.

Acts 5:17-42

17But the high priest and those who were with him (the Sadducees) were full of envy,

18And they took the Apostles and put them in the common prison.

19But in the night an angel of the Lord, opening the doors of the prison, took them out and said,

20Go, take your place in the Temple and give the people all the teaching about this Life.

21And hearing this, they went into the Temple at dawn, and were teaching. But the high priest and those who were with him got together the Sanhedrin and the representatives of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to get them.

22But the men who were sent saw that they were not in the prison, and came back with the news,

23Saying, The doors of the prison were safely shut, and the keepers were at the doors, but when they were open, there was nobody inside.

24Now, at these words, the captain of the Temple and the chief priests were greatly troubled about what might be the end of this business.

25And someone came and said to them, The men, whom you put in prison, are in the Temple teaching the people.

26Then the captain and some of the police went and took them, but not violently, for fear that they might be stoned by the people.

27And they took them into the Sanhedrin, and the high priest said to them,

28We gave you very clear orders not to give teaching in this name: and now Jerusalem is full of your teaching, and you are attempting to make us responsible for this man’s death.

29But Peter and the Apostles, answering, said, We have to do the orders of God, not of man.

30The God of our fathers gave Jesus back to life, whom you had put to death, hanging him on a tree.

31Him God has put on high at his right hand, as a Ruler and a Saviour, to give to Israel a change of heart and forgiveness of sins.

32And we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who keep his laws.

33But when these words came to their ears, they were cut to the heart, and had a mind to put them to death.

34But one of the Sanhedrin, a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a man of learning in the law, of whom all the people had a high opinion, got up and made a suggestion for the men to be put outside for a little time.

35And he said to them, Men of Israel, take care what you do about these men.

36For before this there was Theudas, who said he was someone important, to whom about four hundred men gave their support: he was put to death, and his band was broken up and came to nothing.

37After this man, there was Judas of Galilee, at the time of the numbering, and some of the people went after him: he was put to death, and all his supporters were put to flight.

38And now I say to you, Do nothing to these men, but let them be: for if this teaching or this work is of men, it will come to nothing:

39But if it is of God, you will not be able to overcome them, and you are in danger of fighting against God.

40And he seemed to them to be right: and they sent for the Apostles, and, after having them whipped and giving them orders to give no teaching in the name of Jesus, they let them go.

41So they went away from the Sanhedrin, happy to undergo shame for the Name.

42And every day, in the Temple and privately, they went on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.

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15

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April 15

Deuteronomy 23

1No man whose private parts have been wounded or cut off may come into the meeting of the Lord’s people.

2One whose father and mother are not married may not come into the meeting of the Lord’s people, or any of his family to the tenth generation.

3No Ammonite or Moabite or any of their people to the tenth generation may come into the meeting of the Lord’s people:

4Because they gave you no bread or water on your way, when you came out of Egypt: and they got Balaam, the son of Peor, from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to put curses on you.

5But the Lord your God would not give ear to Balaam, but let the curse be changed into a blessing to you, because of his love for you.

6Do nothing for their peace or well-being for ever.

7But have no hate for an Edomite, because he is your brother, or for an Egyptian, for you were living in his land.

8Their children in the third generation may come into the meeting of the Lord’s people.

9When you go out to war and put your tents in position, keep from every evil thing.

10If any man among you becomes unclean through anything which has taken place in the night, he is to go out from the tent-circle and keep outside it:

11But when evening comes near, let him take a bath: and after sundown he may come back to the tents.

12Let there be a place outside the tent-circle to which you may go;

13And have among your arms a spade; and when you have been to that place, let that which comes from you be covered up with earth:

14For the Lord your God is walking among your tents, to keep you safe and to give up into your hands those who are fighting against you; then let your tents be holy, so that he may see no unclean thing among you, and be turned away from you.

15Do not give back to his master a servant who has gone in flight from his master and come to you:

16Let him go on living among you in whatever place is most pleasing to him: do not be hard on him.

17No daughter of Israel is to let herself be used as a loose woman for a strange god, and no son of Israel is to give himself to a man.

18Do not take into the house of the Lord your God, as an offering for an oath, the price of a loose woman or the money given to one used for sex purposes in the worship of the gods: for these two things are disgusting to the Lord your God.

19Do not take interest from an Israelite on anything, money or food or any other goods, which you let him have:

20From men of other nations you may take interest, but not from an Israelite: so that the blessing of the Lord your God may be on everything to which you put your hand, in the land which you are about to take as your heritage.

21When you take an oath to the Lord, do not be slow to give effect to it: for without doubt the Lord your God will make you responsible, and will put it to your account as sin.

22But if you take no oath, there will be no sin.

23Whatever your lips have said, see that you do it; for you gave your word freely to the Lord your God.

24When you go into your neighbour’s vine-garden, you may take of his grapes at your pleasure, but you may not take them away in your vessel.

25When you go into your neighbour’s field, you may take the heads of grain with your hand; but you may not put your blade to his grain.

Deuteronomy 24

1If a man takes a wife, and after they are married she is unpleasing to him because of some bad quality in her, let him give her a statement in writing and send her away from his house.

2And when she has gone away from him, she may become another man’s wife.

3And if the second husband has no love for her and, giving her a statement in writing, sends her away; or if death comes to the second husband to whom she was married;

4Her first husband, who had sent her away, may not take her back after she has been wife to another; for that is disgusting to the Lord: and you are not to be a cause of sin in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage.

5A newly married man will not have to go out with the army or undertake any business, but may be free for one year, living in his house for the comfort of his wife.

6No one is to take, on account of a debt, the stones with which grain is crushed: for in doing so he takes a man’s living.

7If a man takes by force one of his countrymen, the children of Israel, using him as his property or getting a price for him, that thief is to be put to death: so you are to put away evil from among you.

8In connection with the leper’s disease, take care to keep and do every detail of the teaching of the priests, the Levites: as I gave them orders, so you are to do.

9Keep in mind what the Lord your God did to Miriam on the way, when you came out of Egypt.

10If you let your brother have the use of anything which is yours, do not go into his house and take anything of his as a sign of his debt;

11But keep outside till he comes out and gives it to you.

12If he is a poor man, do not keep his property all night;

13But be certain to give it back to him when the sun goes down, so that he may have his clothing for sleeping in, and will give you his blessing: and this will be put to your account as righteousness before the Lord your God.

14Do not be hard on a servant who is poor and in need, if he is one of your countrymen or a man from another nation living with you in your land.

15Give him his payment day by day, not keeping it back over night; for he is poor and his living is dependent on it; and if his cry against you comes to the ears of the Lord, it will be judged as sin in you.

16Fathers are not to be put to death for their children or children for their fathers: every man is to be put to death for the sin which he himself has done.

17Be upright in judging the cause of the man from a strange country and of him who has no father; do not take a widow’s clothing on account of a debt:

18But keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God made you free: for this is why I give you orders to do this.

19When you get in the grain from your field, if some of the grain has been dropped by chance in the field, do not go back and get it, but let it be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow: so that the blessing of the Lord your God may be on all the work of your hands.

20When you are shaking the fruit from your olive-trees, do not go over the branches a second time: let some be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow.

21When you are pulling the grapes from your vines, do not take up those which have been dropped; let them be for the man from a strange land, the child without a father, and the widow.

22Keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt: for this is why I give you orders to do this.

Job 15

1And Eliphaz the Temanite made answer and said,

2Will a wise man make answer with knowledge of no value, or will he give birth to the east wind?

3Will he make arguments with words in which is no profit, and with sayings which have no value?

4Truly, you make the fear of God without effect, so that the time of quiet worship before God is made less by your outcry.

5For your mouth is guided by your sin, and you have taken the tongue of the false for yourself.

6It is by your mouth, even yours, that you are judged to be in the wrong, and not by me; and your lips give witness against you.

7Were you the first man to come into the world? or did you come into being before the hills?

8Were you present at the secret meeting of God? and have you taken all wisdom for yourself?

9What knowledge have you which we have not? is there anything in your mind which is not in ours?

10With us are men who are grey-haired and full of years, much older than your father.

11Are the comforts of God not enough for you, and the gentle word which was said to you?

12Why is your heart uncontrolled, and why are your eyes lifted up;

13So that you are turning your spirit against God, and letting such words go out of your mouth?

14What is man, that he may be clean? and how may the son of woman be upright?

15Truly, he puts no faith in his holy ones, and the heavens are not clean in his eyes;

16How much less one who is disgusting and unclean, a man who takes in evil like water!

17Take note and give ear to my words; and I will say what I have seen:

18(The things which wise men have got from their fathers, and have not kept secret from us;

19For only to them was the land given, and no strange people were among them:)

20The evil man is in pain all his days, and the number of the years stored up for the cruel is small.

21A sound of fear is in his ears; in time of peace destruction will come on him:

22He has no hope of coming safe out of the dark, and his fate will be the sword;

23He is wandering about in search of bread, saying, Where is it? and he is certain that the day of trouble is ready for him:

24He is greatly in fear of the dark day, trouble and pain overcome him:

25Because his hand is stretched out against God, and his heart is lifted up against the Ruler of all,

26Running against him like a man of war, covered by his thick breastplate; even like a king ready for the fight,

27Because his face is covered with fat, and his body has become thick;

28And he has made his resting-place in the towns which have been pulled down, in houses where no man had a right to be, whose fate was to become masses of broken walls.

29He does not get wealth for himself, and is unable to keep what he has got; the heads of his grain are not bent down to the earth.

30He does not come out of the dark; his branches are burned by the flame, and the wind takes away his bud.

31Let him not put his hope in what is false, falling into error: for he will get deceit as his reward.

32His branch is cut off before its time, and his leaf is no longer green.

33He is like a vine whose grapes do not come to full growth, or an olive-tree dropping its flowers.

34For the band of the evil-doers gives no fruit, and the tents of those who give wrong decisions for reward are burned with fire.

35Evil has made them with child, and they give birth to trouble; and the fruit of their body is shame for themselves.

Acts 5:1-16

1But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, got money for his property,

2And kept back part of the price, his wife having knowledge of it, and took the rest and put it at the feet of the Apostles.

3But Peter said, Ananias, why has the Evil One put it into your heart to be false to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price of the land?

4While you had it, was it not your property? and after you had given it in exchange, was it not still in your power? how has this purpose come into your mind? you have been false, not to men, but to God.

5And at these words, Ananias went down on the earth, and his life went from him: and great fear came on all who were present.

6And the young men went and made ready his body, and took it out, and put it in the earth.

7And about three hours after, his wife, having no knowledge of what had taken place, came in.

8And Peter said to her, Give me an answer: was this amount of money the price of the land? And she said, Yes, it was.

9But Peter said to her, Why have you made an agreement together to be false to the Spirit of the Lord? See, the feet of the young men who have put the body of your husband in the earth, are at the door, and they will take you out.

10And straight away she went down at his feet, and her life went from her: and the young men came in and saw her dead, and they took her out and put her in the earth with her husband.

11Then great fear came on all the church and on all who had knowledge of these things.

12Now a number of signs and wonders were done among the people by the hands of the Apostles; and they were all together in Solomon’s covered way.

13The others, in fear, kept back from joining them: but the people made much of them;

14And a great number of men and women had faith, and were joined to the Lord;

15And they even took into the streets people who were ill, and put them on beds, so that when Peter went by, some of them might be in his shade.

16And numbers of people came together from the towns round about Jerusalem, with those who were ill and those who were troubled with unclean spirits: and they were all made well.

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12

Apr

April 12

Deuteronomy 17

1No ox or sheep which has a mark on it or is damaged in any way may be offered to the Lord your God: for that is disgusting to the Lord your God.

2If there is any man or woman among you, in any of the towns which the Lord your God gives you, who does evil in the eyes of the Lord your God, sinning against his agreement,

3By becoming a servant of other gods and worshipping them or the sun or the moon or all the stars of heaven, against my orders;

4If word of this comes to your ears, then let this thing be looked into with care, and if there is no doubt that it is true, and such evil has been done in Israel;

5Then you are to take the man or woman who has done the evil to the public place of your town, and they are to be stoned with stones till they are dead.

6On the word of two or three witnesses, a man may be given the punishment of death; but he is not to be put to death on the word of one witness.

7The hands of the witnesses will be the first to put him to death, and after them the hands of all the people. So you are to put away the evil from among you.

8If you are not able to give a decision as to who is responsible for a death, or who is right in a cause, or who gave the first blow in a fight, and there is a division of opinion about it in your town: then go to the place marked out by the Lord your God;

9And come before the priests, the Levites, or before him who is judge at the time: and they will go into the question and give you a decision:

10And you are to be guided by the decision they give in the place named by the Lord, and do whatever they say:

11Acting in agreement with their teaching and the decision they give: not turning to one side or the other from the word they have given you.

12And any man who, in his pride, will not give ear to the priest whose place is there before the Lord your God, or to the judge, is to be put to death: you are to put away the evil from Israel.

13And all the people, hearing of it, will be full of fear and put away their pride.

14When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, and have taken it for a heritage and are living in it, if it is your desire to have a king over you, like the other nations round about you;

15Then see that you take as your king the man named by the Lord your God: let your king be one of your countrymen, not a man of another nation who is not one of yourselves.

16And he is not to get together a great army of horses for himself, or make the people go back to Egypt to get horses for him: because the Lord has said, You will never again go back that way.

17And he is not to have a great number of wives, for fear that his heart may be turned away; or great wealth of silver and gold.

18And when he has taken his place on the seat of his kingdom, he is to make in a book a copy of this law, from that which the priests, the Levites, have in their care:

19And it is to be with him for his reading all the days of his life, so that he may be trained in the fear of the Lord his God to keep and do all the words of this teaching and these laws:

20So that his heart may not be lifted up over his countrymen, and he may not be turned away from the orders, to one side or the other: but that his life and the lives of his children may be long in his kingdom in Israel.

Deuteronomy 18

1The priests, the Levites, that is, all the tribe of Levi, will have no part or heritage with Israel: their food and their heritage will be the offerings of the Lord made by fire.

2And they will have no heritage among their countrymen: the Lord is their heritage, as he has said to them.

3And this is to be the priests’ right: those who make an offering of a sheep or an ox are to give to the priest the top part of the leg and the two sides of the head and the stomach.

4And in addition you are to give him the first of your grain and wine and oil, and the first wool cut from your sheep.

5For he, and his sons after him for ever, have been marked out by the Lord your God from all your tribes, to do the work of priests in the name of the Lord.

6And if a Levite, moved by a strong desire, comes from any town in all Israel where he is living to the place marked out by the Lord;

7Then he will do the work of a priest in the name of the Lord his God, with all his brothers the Levites who are there before the Lord.

8His food will be the same as theirs, in addition to what has come to him as the price of his property.

9When you have come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, do not take as your example the disgusting ways of those nations.

10Let there not be seen among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter go through the fire, or anyone using secret arts, or a maker of strange sounds, or a reader of signs, or any wonder-worker,

11Or anyone using secret force on people, or putting questions to a spirit, or having secret knowledge, or going to the dead for directions.

12For all who do such things are disgusting to the Lord; and because of these disgusting things the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

13You are to be upright in heart before the Lord your God.

14For these nations, whose land you are taking, give attention to readers of signs and to those using secret arts: but the Lord your God will not let you do so.

15The Lord your God will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to him;

16In answer to the request you made to the Lord your God in Horeb on the day of the great meeting, when you said, Let not the voice of the Lord my God come to my ears again, and let me not see this great fire any more, or death will overtake me.

17Then the Lord said to me, What they have said is well said.

18I will give them a prophet from among themselves, like you, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he will say to them whatever I give him orders to say.

19And whoever does not give ear to my words which he will say in my name, will be responsible to me.

20But the prophet who takes it on himself to say words in my name which I have not given him orders to say, or who says anything in the name of other gods, will come to his death.

21And if you say in your hearts, How are we to be certain that the word does not come from the Lord?

22When a prophet makes a statement in the name of the Lord, if what he says does not take place and his words do not come true, then his word is not the word of the Lord: the words of the prophet were said in the pride of his heart, and you are to have no fear of him.

Job 12

1And Job made answer and said,

2No doubt you have knowledge, and wisdom will come to an end with you.

3But I have a mind as well as you; I am equal to you: yes, who has not knowledge of such things as these?

4It seems that I am to be as one who is a cause of laughing to his neighbour, one who makes his prayer to God and is answered! the upright man who has done no wrong is to be made sport of!

5In the thought of him who is in comfort there is no respect for one who is in trouble; such is the fate of those whose feet are slipping.

6There is wealth in the tents of those who make destruction, and those by whom God is moved to wrath are safe; even those whose god is their strength.

7But put now a question to the beasts, and get teaching from them; or to the birds of the heaven, and they will make it clear to you;

8Or to the things which go flat on the earth, and they will give you wisdom; and the fishes of the sea will give you news of it.

9Who does not see by all these that the hand of the Lord has done this?

10In whose hand is the soul of every living thing, and the breath of all flesh of man.

11Are not words tested by the ear, even as food is tasted by the mouth?

12Old men have wisdom, and a long life gives knowledge.

13With him there is wisdom and strength; power and knowledge are his.

14Truly, there is no building up of what is pulled down by him; when a man is shut up by him, no one may let him loose.

15Truly, he keeps back the waters and they are dry; he sends them out and the earth is overturned.

16With him are strength and wise designs; he who is guided into error, together with his guide, are in his hands;

17He takes away the wisdom of the wise guides, and makes judges foolish;

18He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them;

19He makes priests prisoners, overturning those in safe positions;

20He makes the words of responsible persons without effect, and takes away the good sense of the old;

21He puts shame on chiefs, and takes away the power of the strong;

22Uncovering deep things out of the dark, and making the deep shade bright;

23Increasing nations, and sending destruction on them; making wide the lands of peoples, and then giving them up.

24He takes away the wisdom of the rulers of the earth, and sends them wandering in a waste where there is no way.

25They go feeling about in the dark without light, wandering without help like those overcome with wine.

Acts 3

1Now Peter and John were going up to the Temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer;

2And a certain man who from birth had had no power in his legs, was taken there every day, and put down at the door of the Temple which is named Beautiful, requesting money from those who went into the Temple;

3He then, seeing Peter and John going into the Temple, made a request to them.

4And Peter, looking at him, with John, said, Keep your eyes on us.

5And he gave attention to them, hoping to get something from them.

6But Peter said, I have no silver or gold, but what I have, that I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, get up on your feet.

7And he took him by his right hand, lifting him up; and straight away his feet and the bones of his legs became strong,

8And, jumping up, he got on to his feet and went into the Temple with them, walking and jumping and giving praise to God.

9And all the people saw him walking and praising God:

10And they saw that it was the man who made requests for money at the door of the Temple, and they were full of wonder and surprise at what had taken place.

11And while he kept his hands on Peter and John, all the people came running together to the covered way which is named Solomon’s, full of wonder.

12And when Peter saw it he said to the people, You men of Israel, why are you so greatly surprised at this man? or why are you looking at us as if by our power or virtue we had given him the use of his legs?

13The God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, has given glory to his servant Jesus; whom you gave up, turning your backs on him, when Pilate had made the decision to let him go free.

14But you would have nothing to do with the Holy and Upright One, and made request for a man of blood to be given to you,

15And put to death the Lord of life; whom God gave back from the dead; of which fact we are witnesses.

16And his name, through faith in his name, has made this man strong, whom you see and have knowledge of: yes, the faith which is through him has made him well, before you all.

17And now, my brothers, I am conscious that you did this, as did your rulers, without knowledge.

18But the things which God had made clear before, by the mouth of all the prophets, that the Christ would have to undergo, he has put into effect in this way.

19So then, let your hearts be changed and be turned to God, so that your sins may be completely taken away, and times of blessing may come from the Lord;

20And that he may send the Christ who was marked out for you from the first, even Jesus:

21Who is to be kept in heaven till the time when all things are put right, of which God has given word by the mouth of his holy prophets, who have been from the earliest times.

22For Moses said, The Lord will give you a prophet from among your people, like me; you will give ear to everything which he will say to you.

23And every soul who does not give attention to that prophet, will be cut off from among the people.

24And all the prophets from Samuel and those who came after, every one of them, gave word of these days.

25You are the sons of the prophets, and of the agreement which God made with your fathers, saying to Abraham, Through your seed a blessing will come on all the families of the earth.

26To you, first, God sent his servant, blessing you by turning every one of you from his sins.

43 days ago Short URL Comments

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11

Apr

April 11

Deuteronomy 15

1At the end of every seven years there is to be a general forgiveness of debt.

2This is how it is to be done: every creditor is to give up his right to whatever he has let his neighbour have; he is not to make his neighbour, his countryman, give it back; because a general forgiveness has been ordered by the Lord.

3A man of another nation may be forced to make payment of his debt, but if your brother has anything of yours, let it go;

4But there will be no poor among you; for the Lord will certainly give you his blessing in the land which the Lord your God is giving you for your heritage;

5If only you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and take care to keep all these orders which I give you today.

6For the Lord your God will give you his blessing as he has said: you will let other nations have the use of your money, but you will not make use of theirs; you will be rulers over a number of nations, but they will not be your rulers.

7If in any of your towns in the land which the Lord your God is giving you, there is a poor man, one of your countrymen, do not let your heart be hard or your hand shut to him;

8But let your hand be open to give him the use of whatever he is in need of.

9And see that there is no evil thought in your heart, moving you to say to yourself, The seventh year, the year of forgiveness is near; and so looking coldly on your poor countryman you give him nothing; and he will make an outcry to the Lord against you, and it will be judged as sin in you.

10But it is right for you to give to him, without grief of heart: for because of this, the blessing of the Lord your God will be on all your work and on everything to which you put your hand.

11For there will never be a time when there are no poor in the land; and so I give orders to you, Let your hand be open to your countrymen, to those who are poor and in need in your land.

12If one of your countrymen, a Hebrew man or woman, becomes your servant for a price and does work for you six years, in the seventh year let him go free.

13And when you make him free, do not let him go away with nothing in his hands:

14But give him freely from your flock and from your grain and your wine: in the measure of the wealth which the Lord your God has given you, you are to give to him.

15And keep in mind that you yourself were a servant in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God made you free: so I give you this order today.

16But if he says to you, I have no desire to go away from you; because you and your family are dear to him and he is happy with you;

17Then take a sharp-pointed instrument, driving it through his ear into the door, and he will be your servant for ever. And you may do the same for your servant-girl.

18Let it not seem hard to you that you have to send him away free; for he has been working for you for six years, which is twice the regular time for a servant: and the blessing of the Lord your God will be on you in everything you do.

19All the first males to come to birth in your herd and your flock are to be holy to the Lord your God: the first birth of your ox is not to be used for work, the wool of your first lamb is not to be cut.

20But year by year you and all your house are to take a meal of it before the Lord, in the place of his selection.

21But if it has any mark on it, if it is blind or has damaged legs, or if there is anything wrong with it, it may not be offered to the Lord your God.

22It may be used for food in your houses: the unclean and the clean may take of it, as of the gazelle and the roe.

23Only do not take its blood for food, but let it be drained out on the earth like water.

Deuteronomy 16

1Take note of the month of Abib and keep the Passover to the Lord your God: for in the month of Abib the Lord your God took you out of Egypt by night.

2The Passover offering, from your flock or your herd, is to be given to the Lord your God in the place marked out by him as the resting-place of his name.

3Take no leavened bread with it; for seven days let your food be unleavened bread, that is, the bread of sorrow; for you came out of the land of Egypt quickly: so the memory of that day, when you came out of the land of Egypt, will be with you all your life.

4For seven days let no leaven be used through all your land; and nothing of the flesh which is put to death in the evening of the first day is to be kept through the night till morning.

5The Passover offering is not to be put to death in any of the towns which the Lord your God gives you:

6But in the place marked out by the Lord your God as the resting-place of his name, there you are to put the Passover to death in the evening, at sundown, at that time of the year when you came out of Egypt.

7It is to be cooked and taken as food in the place marked out by the Lord: and in the morning you are to go back to your tents.

8For six days let your food be unleavened bread; and on the seventh day there is to be a holy meeting to the Lord your God; no work is to be done.

9Let seven weeks be numbered from the first day when the grain is cut.

10Then keep the feast of weeks to the Lord your God, with an offering freely given to him from the wealth he has given you:

11Then you are to be glad before the Lord your God, you and your son and your daughter, your man-servant and your woman-servant, and the Levite who is with you, and the man from a strange country, and the child without a father, and the widow, who are living among you, in the place marked out by the Lord your God as a resting-place for his name.

12And you will keep in mind that you were a servant in the land of Egypt: and you will take care to keep all these laws.

13You are to keep the feast of tents for seven days after you have got in all your grain and made your wine:

14You are to keep the feast with joy, you and your son and your daughter, your man-servant and your woman-servant, and the Levite, and the man from a strange country, and the child without a father, and the widow, who are living among you.

15Keep the feast to the Lord your God for seven days, in the place marked out by the Lord: because the blessing of the Lord your God will be on all the produce of your land and all the work of your hands, and you will have nothing but joy.

16Three times in the year let all your males come before the Lord your God in the place named by him; at the feast of unleavened bread, the feast of weeks, and the feast of tents: and they are not to come before the Lord with nothing in their hands;

17Every man is to give as he is able, in the measure of the blessing which the Lord your God has given you.

18You are to make judges and overseers in all your towns which the Lord your God gives you, for every tribe: and they are to be upright men, judging the people in righteousness.

19You are not to be moved in your judging by a man’s position, you are not to take rewards; for rewards make the eyes of the wise man blind, and the decisions of the upright false.

20Let righteousness be your guide, so that you may have life, and take for your heritage the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

21Let no holy tree of any sort be planted by the altar of the Lord your God which you will make.

22You are not to put up stone pillars, for they are hated by the Lord your God.

Job 11

1Then Zophar the Naamathite made answer and said,

2Are all these words to go unanswered? and is a man seen to be right because he is full of talk?

3Are your words of pride to make men keep quiet? and are you to make sport, with no one to put you to shame?

4You may say, My way is clean, and I am free from sin in your eyes.

5But if only God would take up the word, opening his lips in argument with you;

6And would make clear to you the secrets of wisdom, and the wonders of his purpose!

7Are you able to take God’s measure, to make discovery of the limits of the Ruler of all?

8They are higher than heaven; what is there for you to do? deeper than the underworld, and outside your knowledge;

9Longer in measure than the earth, and wider than the sea.

10If he goes on his way, shutting a man up and putting him to death, who may make him go back from his purpose?

11For in his eyes men are as nothing; he sees evil and takes note of it.

12And so a hollow-minded man will get wisdom, when a young ass of the field gets teaching.

13But if you put your heart right, stretching out your hands to him;

14If you put far away the evil of your hands, and let no wrongdoing have a place in your tent;

15Then truly your face will be lifted up, with no mark of sin, and you will be fixed in your place without fear:

16For your sorrow will go from your memory, like waters flowing away:

17And your life will be brighter than day; though it is dark, it will become like the morning.

18And you will be safe because there is hope; after looking round, you will take your rest in quiet;

19Sleeping with no fear of danger; and men will be desiring to have grace in your eyes;

20But the eyes of the evil-doers will be wasting away; their way of flight is gone, and their only hope is the taking of their last breath.

Acts 2:14-47

14But Peter, getting up, with the eleven, said in a loud voice, O men of Judaea, and all you who are living in Jerusalem, take note of this and give ear to my words.

15For these men are not overcome with wine, as it seems to you, for it is only the third hour of the day;

16But this is the thing which was said by the prophet Joel;

17And it will come about, in the last days, says God, that I will send out my Spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters will be prophets, and your young men will see visions, and your old men will have dreams:

18And on my men-servants and my women-servants I will send my Spirit, and they will be prophets.

19And wonders will be seen in heaven, and signs on the earth, blood and fire and smoke:

20The sun will become dark and the moon will be turned to blood, before that great day of the Lord comes in glory:

21And whoever makes his prayer to the Lord will have salvation.

22Men of Israel, give ear to these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man who had the approval of God, as was made clear to you by the great works and signs and wonders which God did by him among you, as you yourselves have knowledge,

23Him, when he was given up, by the decision and knowledge of God, you put to death on the cross, by the hands of evil men:

24But God gave him back to life, having made him free from the pains of death because it was not possible for him to be overcome by it.

25For David said of him, I saw the Lord before my face at all times, for he is at my right hand, so that I may not be moved:

26And for this cause my heart was glad and my tongue full of joy, and my flesh will be resting in hope:

27For you will not let my soul be in hell and you will not give up your Holy One to destruction.

28You have made me see the ways of life; I will be full of joy when I see your face.

29My brothers, I may say to you openly that David came to his death, and was put in the earth, and his resting-place is with us today.

30But being a prophet, and having in mind the oath which God had given to him, that of the fruit of his body one would take his place as a king,

31He, having knowledge of the future, was talking of the coming again of Christ from the dead, that he was not kept in hell and his body did not see destruction.

32This Jesus God has given back to life, of which we all are witnesses.

33And so, being lifted up to the right hand of God, and having the Father’s word that the Holy Spirit would come, he has sent this thing, which now you see and have knowledge of.

34For David has not gone up into heaven, but says, himself, The Lord said to my Lord, Be seated at my right hand,

35Till I put all those who are against you under your feet.

36For this reason, let all Israel be certain that this Jesus, whom you put to death on the cross, God has made Lord and Christ.

37Now when these words came to their ears their hearts were troubled, and they said to Peter and the other Apostles, Brothers, what are we to do?

38And Peter said, Let your hearts be changed, every one of you, and have baptism in the name of Jesus Christ, for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will have the Holy Spirit given to you.

39For the word of God is for you and for your children and for all those who are far off, even all those who may be marked out by the Lord our God.

40And with more such words he gave his witness, offering them salvation and saying, Come out from this evil generation.

41Then those who gave hearing to his words had baptism: and about three thousand souls were joined to them that day.

42And they kept their attention fixed on the Apostles’ teaching and were united together in the taking of broken bread and in prayer.

43But fear came on every soul: and all sorts of wonders and signs were done by the Apostles.

44And all those who were of the faith kept together, and had all things in common;

45And exchanging their goods and property for money, they made division of it among them all, as they had need.

46And day by day, going in agreement together regularly to the Temple and, taking broken bread together in their houses, they took their food with joy and with true hearts,

47Giving praise to God, and having the approval of all the people; and every day the number of those who had salvation was increased by the Lord.

44 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

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10

Apr

April 10

Deuteronomy 13

1If ever you have among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams and he gives you a sign or a wonder,

2And the sign or the wonder takes place, and he says to you, Let us go after other gods, which are strange to you, and give them worship;

3Then give no attention to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God is testing you, to see if all the love of your heart and soul is given to him.

4But keep on in the ways of the Lord your God, fearing him and keeping his orders and hearing his voice, worshipping him and being true to him.

5And that prophet or that dreamer of dreams is to be put to death; for his words were said with the purpose of turning you away from the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt and made you free from the prison-house; and of forcing you out of the way in which the Lord your God has given you orders to go. So you are to put away the evil from among you.

6If your brother, the son of your mother, or your son or your daughter or the wife of your heart, or the friend who is as dear to you as your life, working on you secretly says to you, Let us go and give worship to other gods, strange to you and to your fathers;

7Gods of the peoples round about you, near or far, from one end of the earth to the other;

8Do not be guided by him or give attention to him; have no pity on him or mercy, and give him no cover;

9But put him to death without question; let your hand be the first stretched out against him to put him to death, and then the hands of all the people.

10Let him be stoned with stones till he is dead; because it was his purpose to make you false to the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, out of the prison-house.

11And all Israel, hearing of it, will be full of fear, and no one will again do such evil as this among you.

12And if word comes to you, in one of the towns which the Lord your God is giving you for your resting-place,

13That good-for-nothing persons have gone out from among you, turning the people of their town from the right way and saying, Let us go and give worship to other gods, of whom you have no knowledge;

14Then let a full search be made, and let questions be put with care; and if it is true and certain that such a disgusting thing has been done among you;

15Then take up arms against the people of that town and give it up to the curse, with all its cattle and everything in it.

16And take all the goods into the middle of its open space, burning the town and all its property with fire as an offering to the Lord your God; it is to be a waste for ever; there is to be no more building there.

17Keep not a thing of what is cursed for yourselves: so the Lord may be turned away from the heat of his wrath, and have mercy on you, and give you increase as he said in his oath to your fathers:

18So long as you give ear to the voice of the Lord your God, and keep all his orders which I give you today, and do what is right in the eyes of the Lord your God.

Deuteronomy 14

1You are the children of the Lord your God: you are not to make cuts on your bodies or take off the hair on your brows in honour of the dead;

2For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has taken you to be his special people out of all the nations on the face of the earth.

3No disgusting thing may be your food.

4These are the beasts which you may have for food: the ox, the sheep, and the goat;

5The hart, the gazelle, and the roe, the mountain goat and the pygarg and the antelope and the mountain sheep.

6Any beast which has a division in the horn of its foot and whose food comes back into its mouth to be crushed again, may be used for food.

7But even among these, there are some which may not be used for food: such as the camel, the hare, and the coney, which are unclean to you, because, though their food comes back, the horn of their feet is not parted in two.

8And the pig is unclean to you, because though it has a division in the horn of its foot, its food does not come back; their flesh may not be used for food or their dead bodies touched by you.

9And of the things living in the waters, you may take all those who have wings for swimming with and skins formed of thin plates.

10But any which have no skin-plates or wings for swimming, you may not take; they are unclean for you.

11All clean birds may be used for food.

12But these birds you may not take: the eagle and the gier-eagle and the ospray;

13The falcon and the kite, and birds of that sort;

14Every raven, and all birds of that sort;

15And the ostrich and the night-hawk and the sea-hawk and birds of that sort;

16The little owl and the great owl and the water-hen;

17And the pelican and the vulture and the cormorant;

18The stork and the heron and birds of that sort, and the hoopoe and the bat.

19Every winged thing which goes flat on the earth is unclean to you and may not be used as food.

20But all clean birds you may take.

21You may not have as food anything which has come to a natural death; the man from another country who is living with you may take it for food, or you may get a price for it from one of another nation; for you are a holy people to the Lord your God. The young goat is not to be cooked in its mother’s milk.

22Put on one side a tenth of all the increase of your seed, produced year by year.

23And make a feast before the Lord your God, in the place which is to be marked out, where his name will be for ever, of the tenth part of your grain and your wine and your oil, and the first births of your herds and your flocks; so that you may have the fear of the Lord your God in your hearts at all times.

24And if the way is so long that you are not able to take these things to the place marked out by the Lord your God for his name, when he has given you his blessing, because it is far away from you;

25Then let these things be exchanged for money, and, taking the money in your hand, go to the place marked out by the Lord your God for himself;

26And with the money get whatever you have a desire for, oxen or sheep or wine or strong drink, whatever your soul’s desire may be: and make a feast there before the Lord your God, and be glad, you and all your house;

27And give a thought to the Levite who is living among you, for he has no part or heritage in the land.

28At the end of every three years take a tenth part of all your increase for that year, and put it in store inside your walls:

29And the Levite, because he has no part or heritage in the land, and the man from a strange country, and the child who has no father, and the widow, who are living among you, will come and take food and have enough; and so the blessing of the Lord your God will be on you in everything you do.

Job 10

1My soul is tired of life; I will let my sad thoughts go free in words; my soul will make a bitter outcry.

2I will say to God, Do not put me down as a sinner; make clear to me what you have against me.

3What profit is it to you to be cruel, to give up the work of your hands, looking kindly on the design of evil-doers?

4Have you eyes of flesh, or do you see as man sees?

5Are your days as the days of man, or your years like his,

6That you take note of my sin, searching after my wrongdoing,

7Though you see that I am not an evil-doer; and there is no one who is able to take a man out of your hands?

8Your hands made me, and I was formed by you, but then, changing your purpose, you gave me up to destruction.

9O keep in mind that you made me out of earth; and will you send me back again to dust?

10Was I not drained out like milk, becoming hard like cheese?

11By you I was clothed with skin and flesh, and joined together with bones and muscles.

12You have been kind to me, and your grace has been with me, and your care has kept my spirit safe.

13But you kept these things in the secret of your heart; I am certain this was in your thoughts:

14That, if I did wrong, you would take note of it, and would not make me clear from sin:

15That, if I was an evil-doer, the curse would come on me; and if I was upright, my head would not be lifted up, being full of shame and overcome with trouble.

16And that if there was cause for pride, you would go after me like a lion; and again put out your wonders against me:

17That you would send new witnesses against me, increasing your wrath against me, and letting loose new armies on me.

18Why then did you make me come out of my mother’s body? It would have been better for me to have taken my last breath, and for no eye to have seen me,

19And for me to have been as if I had not been; to have been taken from my mother’s body straight to my last resting-place.

20Are not the days of my life small in number? Let your eyes be turned away from me, so that I may have a little pleasure,

21Before I go to the place from which I will not come back, to the land where all is dark and black,

22A land of thick dark, without order, where the very light is dark.

Acts 2:1-13

1And when the day of Pentecost was come, they were all together in one place.

2And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like the rushing of a violent wind, and all the house where they were was full of it.

3And they saw tongues, like flames of fire, coming to rest on every one of them.

4And they were all full of the Holy Spirit, and were talking in different languages, as the Spirit gave them power.

5Now there were living at Jerusalem, Jews, God-fearing men, from every nation under heaven.

6And when this sound came to their ears, they all came together, and were greatly surprised because every man was hearing the words of the disciples in his special language.

7And they were full of wonder and said, Are not all these men Galilaeans?

8And how is it that every one of us is hearing their words in the language which was ours from our birth?

9Men of Parthia, Media, and Elam, and those living in Mesopotamia, in Judaea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia,

10In Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and those who have come from Rome, Jews by birth and others who have become Jews,

11Men of Crete and Arabia, to all of us they are talking in our different languages, of the great works of God.

12And they were all surprised and in doubt saying to one another, What is the reason of this?

13But others, making sport of them, said, They are full of new wine.

45 days ago Short URL 2 Comments

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