Day 287 of 365

Jer 16:1–17:27

16:1 The word of the Lord came also to me, saying,

16:2 "You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, in this place.

16:3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became their father in this land:

16:4 They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth.

16:5 For thus says the Lord, 'Do not enter into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, neither bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the Lord, even loving kindness and tender mercies.

16:6 Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them;

16:7 neither shall men break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother.

16:8 You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink.

16:9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride.

16:10 It shall happen, when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall tell you, 'Why has the Lord pronounced all this great evil against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?'

16:11 Then you shall tell them, 'Because your fathers have forsaken me, says the Lord, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law;

16:12 and you have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, you walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you do not listen to me:

16:13 therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor.'

16:14 Therefore behold, the days come," says the Lord, "that it shall no more be said, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;'

16:15 but, 'As the Lord lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them.' I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers.

16:16 Behold, I will send for many fishermen," says the Lord, "and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks.

16:17 For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from my eyes.

16:18 First I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations."

16:19 "Lord, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, 'Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit.

16:20 Shall a man make to himself gods, which yet are no gods?'"

16:21 "Therefore behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is the Lord.

17:1 "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is engraved on the tablet of their heart, and on the horns of your altars;

17:2 while their children remember their altars and their Asherim by the green trees on the high hills.

17:3 My mountain in the field, I will give your substance and all your treasures for a spoil, and your high places, because of sin, throughout all your borders.

17:4 You, even of yourself, shall discontinue from your heritage that I gave you; and I will cause you to serve your enemies in the land which you do not know: for you have kindled a fire in my anger which shall burn forever."

17:5 Thus says the Lord: "Cursed is the man who trusts in man, and makes flesh his arm, and whose heart departs from the Lord.

17:6 For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, a salt land and not inhabited.

17:7 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose trust the Lord is.

17:8 For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, who spreads out its roots by the river, and shall not fear when heat comes, but its leaf shall be green; and shall not be careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding fruit.

17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?

17:10 I, the Lord, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.

17:11 As the partridge that sits on eggs which she has not laid, so is he who gets riches, and not by right; in the midst of his days they shall leave him, and at his end he shall be a fool."

17:12 "A glorious throne, set on high from the beginning, is the place of our sanctuary.

17:13 Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be disappointed. Those who depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living waters.

17:14 Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for you are my praise.

17:15 Behold, they tell me, 'Where is the word of the Lord? Let it come now.'

17:16 As for me, I have not hurried from being a shepherd after you; neither have I desired the woeful day; you know: that which came out of my lips was before your face.

17:17 Do not be a terror to me: you are my refuge in the day of evil.

17:18 Let them be disappointed who persecute me, but let not me be disappointed; let them be dismayed, but do not let me be dismayed; bring on them the day of disaster, and destroy them with double destruction."

17:19 Thus said the Lord to me: "Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people, through which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem;

17:20 and tell them, 'Hear the word of the Lord, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates:

17:21 Thus says the Lord, "Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem;

17:22 neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day holy, neither do any work: but make the Sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers.

17:23 But they did not listen, neither turn their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, and might not receive instruction.

17:24 It shall happen, if you diligently listen to me," says the Lord, "to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to make the Sabbath day holy, to do no work therein;

17:25 then shall there enter in by the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem; and this city shall remain forever.

17:26 They shall come from the cities of Judah, and from the places around Jerusalem, and from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland, and from the hill country, and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and meal offerings, and frankincense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving, to the house of the Lord.

17:27 But if you will not listen to me to make the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched."'"

2 Cor 12:1–21

1 It is necessary to boast, though it is not profitable. But I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

2 I know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I do not know, or whether out of the body, I do not know; God knows), such a one caught up into the third heaven.

3 I know such a man (whether in the body, or apart from the body, I do not know; God knows),

4 how he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

5 On behalf of such a one I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except in my weaknesses.

6 For if I would desire to boast, I will not be foolish; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, so that no man may think more of me than that which he sees in me, or hears from me.

7 By reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted excessively, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me, that I should not be exalted excessively.

8 Concerning this thing, I begged the Lord three times that it might depart from me.

9 He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." Most gladly therefore I will rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest on me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.

11 I have become foolish. You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for in nothing was I inferior to the very best apostles, though I am nothing.

12 Truly the signs of an apostle were worked among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty works.

13 For what is there in which you were made inferior to the rest of the churches, unless it is that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong.

14 Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you, and I will not be a burden to you; for I seek not what is yours, but you. For the children ought not to save up for the parents, but the parents for the children.

15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less?

16 But be it so, I did not myself burden you. But, being crafty, I caught you with deception.

17 Did I take advantage of you by anyone of them whom I have sent to you?

18 I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? Did not we walk in the same spirit? Did not we walk in the same steps?

19 Have you been thinking all this time that we have been defending ourselves before you? In the sight of God we speak in Christ; and all things, beloved, are for your edifying.

20 For I am afraid that by any means, when I come, I might find you not the way I want to, and that I might be found by you as you do not desire; that by any means there would be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, whisperings, proud thoughts, riots;

21 that again when I come my God would humble me before you, and I would mourn for many of those who have sinned before now, and not repented of the uncleanness and sexual immorality and lustfulness which they committed.

Ps 119:129–176

129 Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them.

130 The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.

131 I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for your commandments.

132 Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.

133 Establish my footsteps in your word. Do not let any iniquity have dominion over me.

134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, so I will observe your precepts.

135 Make your face shine on your servant. Teach me your statutes.

136 Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they do not observe your Law.

137 You are righteous, Lord. Your judgments are upright.

138 You have commanded your statutes in righteousness. They are fully trustworthy.

139 My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words.

140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.

141 I am small and despised. I do not forget your precepts.

142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your Law is truth.

143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight.

144 Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.

145 I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Lord! I will keep your statutes.

146 I have called to you. Save me! I will obey your statutes.

147 I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words.

148 My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.

149 Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, Lord, according to your ordinances.

150 They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your Law.

151 You are near, Lord. All your commandments are truth.

152 Of old I have known from your testimonies, that you have founded them forever.

153 Consider my affliction, and deliver me, for I do not forget your Law.

154 Plead my cause, and redeem me! Revive me according to your promise.

155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your statutes.

156 Great are your tender mercies, Lord. Revive me according to your ordinances.

157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries. I haven't swerved from your testimonies.

158 I look at the faithless with loathing, because they do not observe your word.

159 Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, Lord, according to your loving kindness.

160 All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.

161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.

162 I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great spoil.

163 I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your Law.

164 Seven times a day, I praise you, because of your righteous ordinances.

165 Those who love your Law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.

166 I have hoped for your salvation, Lord. I have done your commandments.

167 My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.

168 I have obeyed your precepts and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you.

169 Let my cry come before you, Lord. Give me understanding according to your word.

170 Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word.

171 Let my lips utter praise, for you teach me your statutes.

172 Let my tongue sing of your word, for all your commandments are righteousness.

173 Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.

174 I have longed for your salvation, Lord. Your Law is my delight.

175 Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me.

176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.