Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
FEBRUARY
23
PSALMS:
23, 53, 83, 113, 143
PROVERBS:
23
OLD
TESTAMENT:
1 SAMUEL 17:1 - 18:4
NEW
TESTAMENT:
JOHN 8:21 - 30
PSALMS:
24
Of
David. A psalm.
1
The
earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the
world, and all who live in it;
2
for
he founded it upon the seas
and
established it upon the waters.
3
Who
may ascend the hill of the LORD?
Who
may stand in his holy place?
4
He
who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who
does not lift up his soul to an idol
or
swear by what is false. A
5
He
will receive blessing from the LORD
and
vindication from God his Savior.
6
Such
is the generation of those who seek him,
who
seek your face, O God of Jacob. B
Selah
7
Lift
up your heads, O you gates;
be
lifted up, you ancient doors,
that
the King of glory may come in.
8
Who
is this King of glory?
The
LORD strong and mighty,
the
LORD mighty in battle.
9
Lift
up your heads, O you gates;
lift
them up, you ancient doors,
that
the King of glory may come in.
10
Who
is he, this King of glory?
The
LORD Almighty--
he
is the King of glory. 1
PSALMS:
54
For
the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil
A
of David. When the Ziphites had gone to Saul and said, "Is not
David hiding among us?"
1
Save
me, O God, by your name;
vindicate
me by your might.
2
Hear
my prayer, O God;
listen
to the words of my mouth.
3
Strangers
are attacking me;
ruthless
men seek my life--
men
without regard for God.
Selah
4
Surely
God is my help;
the
Lord is the one who sustains me.
5
Let
evil recoil on those who slander me;
in
your faithfulness destroy them.
6
I
will sacrifice a freewill offering to you;
I
will praise your name, O LORD,
for
it is good.
7
For
he has delivered me from all my troubles,
and
my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes. 3
PSALMS:
84
For
the director of music. According to gittith.
A
Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1
How
lovely is your dwelling place,
O
LORD Almighty!
2
My
soul yearns, even faints,
for
the courts of the LORD;
my
heart and my flesh cry out
for
the living God.
3
Even
the sparrow has found a home,
and
the swallow a nest for herself,
where
she may have her young--
a
place near your altar,
O
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4
Blessed
are those who dwell in your house;
they
are ever praising you.
Selah
5
Blessed
are those whose strength is in you,
who
have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
6
As
they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they
make it a place of springs;
the
autumn rains also cover it with pools. B
7
They
go from strength to strength,
till
each appears before God in Zion.
8
Hear
my prayer, O LORD God Almighty;
listen
to me, O God of Jacob.
Selah
9
Look
upon our shield, C
O God;
look
with favor on your anointed one. 4
10
Better
is one day in your courts
than
a thousand elsewhere;
I
would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than
dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11
For
the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the
LORD bestows favor and honor;
no
good thing does he withhold
from
those whose walk is blameless.
12
O
LORD Almighty,
blessed
is the man who trusts in you. 5
PSALMS:
114
1
When
Israel came out of Egypt,
the
house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2
Judah
became God's sanctuary,
Israel
his dominion.
3
The
sea looked and fled,
the
Jordan turned back;
4
the
mountains skipped like rams,
the
hills like lambs.
5
Why
was it, O sea, that you fled,
O
Jordan, that you turned back,
6
you
mountains, that you skipped like rams,
you
hills, like lambs?
7
Tremble,
O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at
the presence of the God of Jacob,
8
who
turned the rock into a pool,
the
hard rock into springs of water. 6
PSALMS:
144
Of
David.
1
Praise
be to the LORD my Rock,
who
trains my hands for war,
my
fingers for battle.
2
He
is my loving God and my fortress,
my
stronghold and my deliverer,
my
shield, in whom I take refuge,
who
subdues peoples A
under me.
3
O
LORD, what is man that you care for him,
the
son of man that you think of him?
4
Man
is like a breath;
his
days are like a fleeting shadow.
5
Part
your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch
the mountains, so that they smoke.
6
Send
forth lightning and scatter the enemies;
shoot
your arrows and rout them.
7
Reach
down your hand from on high;
deliver
me and rescue me
from
the mighty waters,
from
the hands of foreigners
8
whose
mouths are full of lies,
whose
right hands are deceitful.
9
I
will sing a new song to you, O God;
on
the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
10
to
the One who gives victory to kings,
who
delivers his servant David from the deadly sword. 7
11
Deliver
me and rescue me
from
the hands of foreigners
whose
mouths are full of lies,
whose
right hands are deceitful.
12
Then
our sons in their youth
will
be like well-nurtured plants,
and
our daughters will be like pillars
carved
to adorn a palace.
13
Our
barns will be filled
with
every kind of provision.
Our
sheep will increase by thousands,
by
tens of thousands in our fields;
14
our
oxen will draw heavy loads. B
There
will be no breaching of walls,
no
going into captivity,
no
cry of distress in our streets.
15
Blessed
are the people of whom this is true;
blessed
are the people whose God is the LORD. 8
PROVERBS:
24
24
1
Do not envy wicked men,
do
not desire their company;
2
for
their hearts plot violence,
and
their lips talk about making trouble.
3
By
wisdom a house is built,
and
through understanding it is established;
4
through
knowledge its rooms are filled
with
rare and beautiful treasures.
5
A
wise man has great power,
and
a man of knowledge increases strength;
6
for
waging war you need guidance,
and
for victory many advisers.
7
Wisdom
is too high for a fool;
in
the assembly at the gate he has nothing to say.
8
He
who plots evil
will
be known as a schemer.
9
The
schemes of folly are sin,
and
men detest a mocker.
10
If
you falter in times of trouble,
how
small is your strength!
11
Rescue
those being led away to death;
hold
back those staggering toward slaughter.
12
If
you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does
not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does
not he who guards your life know it?
Will
he not repay each person according to what he has done? 9
13
Eat
honey, my son, for it is good;
honey
from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14
Know
also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if
you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and
your hope will not be cut off.
15
Do
not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house,
do
not raid his dwelling place;
16
for
though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
but
the wicked are brought down by calamity.
17
Do
not gloat when your enemy falls;
when
he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
18
or
the LORD will see and disapprove
and
turn his wrath away from him.
19
Do
not fret because of evil men
or
be envious of the wicked,
20
for
the evil man has no future hope,
and
the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.
21
Fear
the LORD and the king, my son,
and
do not join with the rebellious,
22
for
those two will send sudden destruction upon them,
and
who knows what calamities they can bring?
23
These
also are sayings of the wise:
To
show partiality in judging is not good:
24
Whoever
says to the guilty, "You are innocent"--
peoples
will curse him and nations denounce him.
25
But
it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
and
rich blessing will come upon them. 10
26
An
honest answer
is
like a kiss on the lips.
27
Finish
your outdoor work
and
get your fields ready;
after
that, build your house.
28
Do
not testify against your neighbor without cause,
or
use your lips to deceive.
29
Do
not say, "I'll do to him as he has done to me;
I'll
pay that man back for what he did."
30
I
went past the field of the sluggard,
past
the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment;
31
thorns
had come up everywhere,
the
ground was covered with weeds,
and
the stone wall was in ruins.
32
I
applied my heart to what I observed
and
learned a lesson from what I saw:
33
A
little sleep, a little slumber,
a
little folding of the hands to rest--
34
and
poverty will come on you like a bandit
OLD
TESTAMENT:
1 SAMUEL 17:1 - 18:4
17
1
Now
the Philistines gathered their forces for war and assembled at Socoh
in Judah. They pitched camp at Ephes Dammim, between Socoh and
Azekah. 2
Saul
and the Israelites assembled and camped in the Valley of Elah and
drew up their battle line to meet the Philistines. 3
The
Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the
valley between them.
4
A
champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine
camp. He was over nine feet A
tall. 5He
had a bronze helmet on his head and wore a coat of scale armor of
bronze weighing five thousand shekels B;
6
on
his legs he wore bronze greaves, and a bronze javelin was slung on
his back. 7
His
spear shaft was like a weaver's rod, and its iron point weighed six
hundred shekels. C
His shield bearer went ahead of him.
8
Goliath
stood and shouted to the ranks of Israel, "Why do you come out
and line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and are you not the
servants of Saul? Choose a man and have him come down to me. 9
If
he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if
I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve
us." 10
Then
the Philistine said, "This day I defy the ranks of Israel! Give
me a man and let us fight each other." 11
On
hearing the Philistine's words, Saul and all the Israelites were
dismayed and terrified.
12
Now
David was the son of an Ephrathite named Jesse, who was from
Bethlehem in Judah. Jesse had eight sons, and in Saul's time he was
old and well advanced in years.
13
Jesse's
three oldest 12sons
had followed Saul to the war: The firstborn was Eliab; the second,
Abinadab; and the third, Shammah. 14
David
was the youngest. The three oldest followed Saul, 15
but
David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father's sheep at
Bethlehem.
16
For
forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and
took his stand.
17
Now
Jesse said to his son David, "Take this ephah D
of roasted grain and these ten loaves of bread for your brothers and
hurry to their camp. 18
Take
along these ten cheeses to the commander of their unit. E
See how your brothers are and bring back some assurance F
from them. 19
They
are with Saul and all the men of Israel in the Valley of Elah,
fighting against the Philistines."
20
Early
in the morning David left the flock with a shepherd, loaded up and
set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was
going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. 21
Israel
and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. 22
David
left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines
and greeted his brothers. 23
As
he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath,
stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David
heard it. 24
When
the Israelites saw the man, they all ran from him in great fear.
25
Now
the Israelites had been saying, "Do you see how this man keeps
coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great
wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter
in marriage and will exempt his father's family from taxes in
Israel." 13
26
David
asked the men standing near him, "What will be done for the man
who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who
is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of
the living God?"
27
They
repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, "This is
what will be done for the man who kills him."
28
When
Eliab, David's oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he
burned with anger at him and asked, "Why have you come down
here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I
know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came
down only to watch the battle."
29
"Now
what have I done?" said David. "Can't I even speak?"
30
He
then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and
the men answered him as before. 31
What
David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him.
32
David
said to Saul, "Let no one lose heart on account of this
Philistine; your servant will go and fight him."
33
Saul
replied, "You are not able to go out against this Philistine and
fight him; you are only a boy, and he has been a fighting man from
his youth."
34
But
David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father's
sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the
flock, 35
I
went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When
it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36
Your
servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this 14
uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has
defied the armies of the living God.
37
The
LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the
bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."
Saul
said to David, "Go, and the LORD be with you."
38
Then
Saul dressed David in his own tunic. He put a coat of armor on him
and a bronze helmet on his head. 39
David
fastened on his sword over the tunic and tried walking around,
because he was not used to them.
"I
cannot go in these," he said to Saul, "because I am not
used to them." So he took them off. 40
Then
he took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the
stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his
sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.
41
Meanwhile,
the Philistine, with his shield bearer in front of him, kept coming
closer to David. 42
He
looked David over and saw that he was only a boy, ruddy and handsome,
and he despised him. 43
He
said to David, "Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks?"
And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44
"Come
here," he said, "and I'll give your flesh to the birds of
the air and the beasts of the field!"
45
David
said to the Philistine, "You come against me with sword and
spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the LORD
Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have 15
defied.
46
This
day the LORD will hand you over to me, and I'll strike you down and
cut off your head. Today I will give the carcasses of the Philistine
army to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and the
whole world will know that there is a God in Israel.
47
All
those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that
the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's, and he will give all of
you into our hands."
48
As
the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward
the battle line to meet him. 49
Reaching
into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the
Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he
fell facedown on the ground.
50
So
David triumphed over the Philistine with a sling and a stone; without
a sword in his hand he struck down the Philistine and killed him.
51
David
ran and stood over him. He took hold of the Philistine's sword and
drew it from the scabbard. After he killed him, he cut off his head
with the sword.
When
the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they turned and ran. 52
Then
the men of Israel and Judah surged forward with a shout and pursued
the Philistines to the entrance of Gath G
and to the gates of Ekron. Their dead were strewn along the Shaaraim
road to Gath and Ekron. 53
When
the Israelites returned from chasing the Philistines, they plundered
their camp. 54
David
took the Philistine's head and brought it to Jerusalem, and he put
the Philistine's weapons in his own tent. 16
55
As
Saul watched David going out to meet the Philistine, he said to
Abner, commander of the army, "Abner, whose son is that young
man?"
Abner
replied, "As surely as you live, O king, I don't know."
56
The
king said, "Find out whose son this young man is."
57
As
soon as David returned from killing the Philistine, Abner took him
and brought him before Saul, with David still holding the
Philistine's head.
58
"Whose
son are you, young man?" Saul asked him.
David
said, "I am the son of your servant Jesse of Bethlehem."
18
1
After
David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit
with David, and he loved him as himself. 2
From
that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his
father's house. 3
And
Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
4
Jonathan
took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his
tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt. 17
NEW
TESTAMENT:
JOHN 8:21 - 30
21
Once
more Jesus said to them, "I
am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your
sin.
Where I go, you cannot come."
22
This
made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says,
`Where I go, you cannot come'?"
23
But
he continued, "You
are from below;
I
am from above.
You are of this world;
I am not of this world.
24
I told you that you would die in your sins;
if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be,
A
you will indeed die in your sins."
25
"Who
are you?" they asked.
"Just
what I have been claiming all along,"
Jesus replied. 26
"I
have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable,
and what I have heard from him I tell the world."
27
They
did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. 28
So
Jesus said, "When
you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the
one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what
the Father has taught me.
29
The one who sent me is with me;
he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."
30
Even
as he spoke, many put their faith in him. 18
1
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2
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3
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4
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5
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11
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12
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14
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15
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18
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John 3:16-21 16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.G 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God." H
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