JANUARY 31
PSALMS: 31, 61, 91, 121
PROVERBS: 31
OLD TESTAMENT: JOSHUA 24:1 - 33
NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 21:1 - 28
PSALMS: 31
1 In you, LORD, do I take refuge.
Let me never be put to shame:
Deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Bow down your ear to me.
Deliver me speedily.
Be to me a strong rock,
A house of defense to save me.
3 For you are my rock and my fortress,
Therefore for your name's sake lead me and guide me.
4 Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me,
For you are my stronghold.
5 Into your hand I commend my spirit.
You redeem me, LORD, God of truth.
6 I hate those who regard lying vanities,
But I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness,
For you have seen my affliction.
You have known my soul in adversities.
8 You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress.
My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
My years with sighing.
My strength fails because of my iniquity.
My bones are wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries
I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbors,
A fear to my acquaintances.
Those who saw me on the street fled from me.
12 I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man.
I am like broken pottery.
13 For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side,
While they conspire together against me,
They plot to take away my life.
14 But I trust in you, LORD.
I said, You are my God.
15 My times are in your hand.
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
16 Make your face to shine on your servant.
Save me in your loving kindness.
17 Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
for I have called on you.
Let the wicked be put to shame.
Let them be silent in She'ol.
18 Let the lying lips be mute,
Which speak against the righteous insolently,
with pride and contempt.
19 Oh how great is your goodness,
Which you have laid up for those who fear you,
‘Which you have worked for those who take refuge in you,
Before the sons of men!
20 In the covert of your presence will you hide them from the plotting of man.
You will keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
21 Praise be to the LORD,
For he has shown me his marvelous loving kindness in a strong city.
22 As for me, I said in my haste,
"I am cut off from before your eyes."
Nevertheless you heard the voice of my petitions when I cried to you.
23 Oh love the LORD, all you his holy ones!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
And pays back him who deals proudly in full.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the LORD.
PSALMS: 61
1 Hear my cry, God.
Listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the eretz,
I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been a refuge for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will dwell in your tent forever.
I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah.
5 For you, God, have heard my vows.
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 You will prolong the king's life;
His years shall be for generations.
7 He shall be enthroned in God's presence forever.
Appoint your loving kindness and truth,
that they may preserve him.
8 So I will sing praise to your name forever,
That I may fulfill my vows daily.
PSALMS: 91
1 He who dwells in the secret place of Ha`Elyon
Will rest in the shadow of Shaddai.
2 I will say of the LORD,
"He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in whom I trust."
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
From the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions.
Under his wings you will take refuge.
His truth is a shield and a buckler.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes,
And see the reward of the wicked.
9 For you, LORD, are my refuge!
You have made Ha`Elyon your habitation.
10 No evil shall happen to you,
Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he will give his angels charge over you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
So that you won't dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and cobra.
You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
14 "Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him.
I will set him on high, because he has known my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him, and honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life,
And show him my yeshu`ah."
PSALMS: 121
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and eretz.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Yisra'el
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper.
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in,
From this time forth, and forevermore.
PROVERBS: 31
1 The words of king Lemo'el;
the oracle which his mother taught him.
2 "Oh, my son!" Oh, son of my womb!
Oh, son of my vows!
3 Don't give your strength to women,
Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemo'el;
it is not for kings to drink wine;
Nor for princes to say, 'Where is strong drink?'
5 Lest they drink, and forget the law,
And pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish;
And wine to the bitter in soul:
7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the mute,
In the cause of all who are left desolate.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And serve justice to the poor and needy."
10 Who can find a worthy woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her.
He shall have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And works eagerly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships.
She brings her bread from afar.
15 She rises also while it is yet night,
Gives food to her household,
And portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field, and buys it.
With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds her loins with strength,
And makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp doesn't go out by night.
19 She lays her hands to the distaff,
And her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her arms to the poor;
Yes, she extends her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes for herself carpets of tapestry.
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected in the gates,
When he sits among the Zakenim of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing.
She laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom.
Faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
And doesn't eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed.
Her husband also praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,
But you excel them all."
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain;
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands;
Let her works praise her in the gates.
OLD TESTAMENT: JOSHUA 24:1 - 33
24:1 Yehoshua gathered all the tribes of Yisra'el to Shekhem, and called for the Zakenim of Yisra'el, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
2 Yehoshua said to all the people, Thus says the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, Your fathers lived of old time beyond the River, even Terach, the father of Avraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
3 I took your father Avraham from beyond the River, and led him throughout all the land of Kana`an, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Yitzchak.
4 I gave to Yitzchak Ya`akov and Esav: and I gave to Esav Mount Se`ir, to possess it: and Ya`akov and his children went down into Mitzrayim.
5 I sent Moshe and Aharon, and I plagued Mitzrayim, according to that which I did in the midst of it: and afterward I brought you out.
6 I brought your fathers out of Mitzrayim: and you came to the sea; and the Mitzrim pursued after your fathers with chariots and with horsemen to the Sea of Suf.
7 When they cried out to the LORD, he put darkness between you and the Mitzrim, and brought the sea on them, and covered them; and your eyes saw what I did in Mitzrayim: and you lived in the wilderness many days.
8 I brought you into the land of the Amori, that lived beyond the Yarden: and they fought with you; and I gave them into your hand, and you possessed their land; and I destroyed them from before you.
9 Then Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, arose and fought against Yisra'el: and he sent and called Bil`am the son of Be'or to curse you;
10 but I would not listen to Bil`am; therefore he blessed you still: so I delivered you out of his hand.
11 You went over the Yarden, and came to Yericho: and the men of Yericho fought against you, the Amori, and the Perizzi, and the Kana`ani, and the Hittite, and the Girgashi, the Hivvi, and the Yevusi; and I delivered them into your hand.
12 I sent the hornet before you, which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amori; not with your sword, nor with your bow.
13 I gave you a land whereon you had not labored, and cities which you didn't build, and you dwell therein; of vineyards and olive groves which you didn't plant do you eat.
14 Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River, and in Mitzrayim; and serve you the LORD.
15 If it seem evil to you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom you will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amori, in whose land you dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
16 The people answered, Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD, to serve other gods;
17 for the LORD our God, he it is who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Mitzrayim, from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight, and preserved us in all the way in which we went, and among all the peoples through the midst of whom we passed;
18 and the LORD drove out from before us all the peoples, even the Amori who lived in the land: therefore we also will serve the LORD; for he is our God.
19 Yehoshua said to the people, You can't serve the LORD; for he is a holy God; he is a jealous God; he will not forgive your disobedience nor your sins.
20 If you forsake the LORD, and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you evil, and consume you, after that he has done you good.
21 The people said to Yehoshua, No; but we will serve the LORD.
22 Yehoshua said to the people, You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. They said, We are witnesses.
23 Now therefore put away, [said he], the foreign gods which are among you, and incline your heart to the LORD, the God of Yisra'el.
24 The people said to Yehoshua, the LORD our God will we serve, and to his voice will we listen.
25 So Yehoshua made a covenant with the people that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shekhem.
26 Yehoshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God; and he took a great stone, and set it up there under the oak that was by the sanctuary of the LORD.
27 Yehoshua said to all the people, Behold, this stone shall be a witness against us; for it has heard all the words of the LORD which he spoke to us: it shall be therefore a witness against you, lest you deny your God.
28 So Yehoshua sent the people away, every man to his inheritance.
29 It happened after these things, that Yehoshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being one hundred ten years old.
30 They buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnat-Serach, which is in the hill-country of Efrayim, on the north of the mountain of Ga`ash.
31 Yisra'el served the LORD all the days of Yehoshua, and all the days of the Zakenim who outlived Yehoshua, and had known all the work of the LORD, that he had worked for Yisra'el.
32 The bones of Yosef, which the children of Yisra'el brought up out of Mitzrayim, buried they in Shekhem, in the parcel of ground which Ya`akov bought of the sons of Hamor the father of Shekhem for a hundred pieces of money: and they became the inheritance of the children of Yosef.
33 El`azar the son of Aharon died; and they buried him in the hill of Pinechas his son, which was given him in the hill-country of Efrayim.
NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 21:1 - 28
21:1 He looked up, and saw the rich people who were putting their gifts into the treasury.
2 He saw a certain poor widow casting in two lepta.
3 He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow put in more than all of them,
4 for all these put in gifts for God from their abundance, but she, out of her lack, put in all that she had to live on."
5 As some were talking about the temple and how it was decorated with beautiful stones and gifts, he said,
6 "As for these things which you see, the days will come, in which there will not be left here one stone on another that will not be thrown down."
7 They asked him, "Teacher, when therefore will these things be? What is the sign that these things are about to happen?"
8 He said, "Watch out that you don't get led astray, for many will come in my name, saying, 'I AM,' and, 'The time is at hand.' Therefore don't follow them.
9 When you hear of wars and disturbances, don't be terrified, for these things must happen first, but the end won't come immediately."
10 Then he said to them, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
11 There will be great earthquakes, famines, and plagues in various places. There will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
12 But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you up to synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for my name's sake.
13 It will turn out as a testimony to you.
14 Settle it therefore in your hearts not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
15 for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to withstand or to contradict.
16 But you will be handed over even by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends. Some of you they will cause to be put to death.
17 You will be hated by all men for my name's sake.
18 Not a hair of your head will perish.
19 By your endurance you will win your lives.
20 "But when you see Yerushalayim surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is at hand.
21 Then let those who are in Yehudah flee to the mountains. Let those who are in the midst of her depart. Don't let those who are in the country enter therein.
22 For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled.
23 Woe to those who are pregnant and to those who nurse infants in those days! For there will be great distress in the land, and wrath to this people.
24 They will fall by the edge of the sword, and will be led captive into all the nations. Yerushalayim will be trampled down by the Goyim, until the times of the Goyim are fulfilled.
25 There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars; and on the eretz anxiety of nations, in perplexity for the roaring of the sea and the waves;
26 men fainting for fear, and for expectation of the things which are coming on the world: for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
28 But when these things begin to happen, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is near."
