DECEMBER 14
PSALMS: 14, 44, 74, 104, 134
PROVERBS: 14
OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 4:1 - 5:31
NEW TESTAMENT: MARK 12:18 - 37
PSALMS: 14
1 The fool has said in his heart,
"There is no God.
" They are corrupt, they have done abominable works.
There is none who does good.
2 The LORD looked down from heaven on the children of men,
To see if there were any who did understand,
Who did seek after God.
3 They have all gone aside;
they have together become corrupt.
There is none who does good, no, not one.
4 Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And don't call on the LORD?
5 There were they in great fear,
For God is in the generation of the righteous.
6 You put to shame the counsel of the poor,
Because the LORD is his refuge.
7 Oh that the yeshu`ah of Yisra'el would come out of Tziyon!
When the LORD restores the fortunes of his people,
Then Ya`akov shall rejoice, and Yisra'el shall be glad.
PSALMS: 44
1 We have heard with our ears,
God; Our fathers have told us,
What work you did in their days,
In the days of old.
2 You drove out the nations with your hand,
But you planted them.
You afflicted the peoples,
But you spread them abroad.
3 For they didn't get the land in possession by their own sword,
Neither did their own arm save them;
But your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face,
Because you were favorable to them.
4 You are my King, God.
Command victories for Ya`akov!
5 Through you, will we push down our adversaries.
Through your name, will we tread them under who rise up against us.
6 For I will not trust in my bow,
Neither shall my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our adversaries,
And have put them to shame who hate us.
8 In God have we made our boast all day long,
We will give thanks to your name forever. Selah.
9 But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor,
And don't go out with our armies.
10 You make us turn back from the adversary.
Those who hate us take spoil for themselves.
11 You have made us like sheep for food,
And have scattered us among the nations.
12You sell your people for nothing,
And have gained nothing from their sale.
13 You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
A scoffing and a derision to those who are round about us.
14 You make us a byword among the nations,
A shaking of the head among the peoples.
15 All day long is my dishonor before me,
And shame covers my face,
16 At the taunt of one who reproaches and reviles,
Because of the enemy and the avenger.
17 All this has come on us,
Yet have we not forgotten you,
Neither have we been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
Neither have our steps declined from your way,
19 That you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals,
And covered us with the shadow of death.
20 If we have forgotten the name of our God,
Or spread forth our hands to a strange god;
21 Won't God search this out?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yes, for your sake are we killed all day long.
We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.
23 Wake up!
Why do you sleep, Lord? Arise!
Don't reject us forever.
24 Why do you hide your face,
And forget our affliction and our oppression?
25 For our soul is bowed down to the dust.
Our body cleaves to the eretz.
26 Rise up to help us.
Redeem us for your loving kindness' sake.
PSALMS: 74
1 God, why have you rejected us forever?
Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?
2 Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old,
Which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance;
Mount Tziyon, in which you have lived.
3 Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins,
All the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.
4 Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly.
They have set up their standards as signs.
5 They behaved like men wielding axes,
Cutting through a thicket of trees.
6 Now all its carved work
They break down with hatchet and hammers.
7 They have burned your sanctuary to the ground.
They have profaned the dwelling-place of your Name.
8 They said in their heart,
"We will crush them completely.
" They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.
9 We see no miraculous signs.
There is no longer any prophet,
Neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.
10 How long, God, shall the adversary reproach?
Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?
11 Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand?
Take it out of your pocket and consume them!
12 Yet God is my King of old,
Working salvation in the midst of the eretz.
13 You divided the sea by your strength.
You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.
14 You broke the heads of Livyatan in pieces.
You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.
15 You opened up spring and stream.
You dried up mighty rivers.
16 The day is yours, the night is also yours.
You have prepared the light and the sun.
17 You have set all the boundaries of the eretz.
You have made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, LORD.
Foolish people have blasphemed your name.
19 Don't deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts.
Don't forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Honor your covenant,
For haunts of violence fill the dark places of the eretz.
21 Don't let the oppressed return ashamed.
Let the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, God! Plead your own cause.
Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.
23 Don't forget the voice of your adversaries.
The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.
PSALMS: 104
1 Bless the LORD, my soul.
The LORD, my God, you are very great.
You are clothed with honor and majesty.
2 He covers himself with light as with a garment.
He stretches out the heavens like a curtain.
3 He lays the beams of his chambers in the waters.
He makes the clouds his chariot.
He walks on the wings of the wind.
4He makes his messengers winds;
His servants flames of fire.
5 He laid the foundations of the eretz,
That it should not be moved forever.
6 You covered it with the deep as with a cloak.
The waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled.
At the voice of your thunder they hurried away.
8 The mountains rose,
The valleys sank down,
To the place which you had assigned to them.
9 You have set a boundary that they may not pass over;
That they don't turn again to cover the eretz.
10 He sends forth springs into the valleys.
They run among the mountains.
11 They give drink to every animal of the field.
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 The birds of the sky nest by them.
They sing among the branches.
13 He waters the mountains from his chambers.
The eretz is filled with the fruit of your works.
14 He causes the grass to grow for the cattle,
And plants for man to cultivate,
That he may bring forth food out of the eretz:
15Wine that makes glad the heart of man,
Oil to make his face to shine,
And bread that strengthens man's heart.
16 The LORD's trees are well watered,
The cedars of Levanon, which he has planted;
17 Where the birds make their nests.
The stork makes its home in the fir trees.
18 The high mountains are for the wild goats.
The rocks are a refuge for the rock badgers.
19 He appointed the moon for seasons.
The sun knows when to set.
20 You make darkness, and it is night,
In which all the animals of the forest prowl.
21 The young lions roar after their prey,
And seek their food from God.
22 The sun rises, and they steal away,
And lay down in their dens.
23 Man goes forth to his work,
To his labor until the evening.
24 The LORD, how many are your works!
In wisdom have you made them all.
The eretz is full of your riches.
25 There is the sea, great and wide,
In which are innumerable living things,
Both small and great animals.
26 There the ships go,
And livyatan, whom you formed to play there.
27 These all wait for you,
That you may give them their food in due season.
28 You give to them; they gather.
You open your hand; they are satisfied with good.
29 You hide your face: they are troubled;
You take away their breath: they die, and return to the dust.
30 You send forth your Spirit: they are created.
You renew the face of the ground.
31 Let the glory of the LORD endure forever.
Let the LORD rejoice in his works.
32 He looks at the eretz, and it trembles.
He touches the mountains, and they smoke.
33 I will sing to the LORD as long as I live.
I will sing praise to my God while I have any being.
34 Let your meditation be sweet to him.
I will rejoice in the LORD.
35 Let sinners be consumed out of the eretz.
Let the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, my soul.
Praise the LORD!
PSALMS: 134
1 Look! Praise the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,
Who stand by night in the LORD's house!
2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary.
Praise the LORD!
3 May the LORD bless you from Tziyon;
Even he who made heaven and eretz.
PROVERBS: 14
1 Every wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.
2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD,
But he who is perverse in his ways despises him.
3 The fool's talk brings a rod to his back,
But the lips of the wise protect them.
4 Where no oxen are, the crib is clean,
But much increase is by the strength of the ox.
5 A truthful witness will not lie,
But a false witness pours out lies.
6 A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn't find it,
But knowledge comes easily to a discerning person.
7 Stay away from a foolish man,
For you won't find knowledge on his lips.
8 The wisdom of the prudent is to think about his way,
But the folly of fools is deceit.
9 Fools mock at making atonement for sins,
But among the upright there is good will.
10 The heart knows its own bitterness and joy;
He will not share these with a stranger.
11 The house of the wicked will be overthrown,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.
12There is a way which seems right to a man,
But in the end it leads to death.
13 Even in laughter the heart may be sorrowful,
And mirth may end in heaviness.
14 The unfaithful will be repaid for his own ways;
Likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways.
15 The simple believes everything,
But the prudent man carefully considers his ways.
16 A wise man fears, and shuns evil,
But the fool is hotheaded and reckless.
17 He who is quick to become angry will commit folly,
And a crafty man is hated.
18 The simple inherit folly,
But the prudent are crowned with knowledge.
19 The evil bow down before the good,
And the wicked, at the gates of the righteous.
20 The poor person is shunned even by his own neighbor,
But the rich person has many friends.
21 He who despises his neighbor sins,
But blessed is he who has pity on the poor.
22 Don't they go astray who plot evil?
But love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.
23 In all hard work there is profit,
But the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.
24 The crown of the wise is their riches,
But the folly of fools crowns them with folly.
25 A truthful witness saves souls,
But a false witness is deceitful.
26 In the fear of the LORD is a secure fortress,
And he will be a refuge for his children.
27 The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life,
Turning people from the snares of death.
28 In the multitude of people is the king's glory,
But in the lack of people is the destruction of the prince.
29 He who is slow to anger has great understanding,
But he who has a quick temper displays folly.
30 The life of the body is a heart at shalom,
But envy rots the bones.
31 He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker,
But he who is kind to the needy honors him.
32 The wicked is brought down in his calamity,
But in death, the righteous has a refuge.
33 Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding,
And is even made known in the inward part of fools.
34 Righteousness exalts a nation,
But sin is a disgrace to any people.
35 The king's favor is toward a servant who deals wisely,
But his wrath is toward one who causes shame.
33 When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.
OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 4:1 - 5:31
Numbers 4
1 The LORD spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying,
2 "Take a census of the sons of Kehat from among the sons of Levi, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
3 from thirty years old and upward even until fifty years old, all who enter into the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
4 This is the service of the sons of Kehat in the Tent of Meeting, the most holy things.
5 When the camp moves forward, Aharon shall go in, and his sons, and they shall take down the veil of the screen, and cover the ark of the Testimony with it,
6 and shall put a covering of sealskin on it, and shall spread over it a cloth all of blue, and shall put in its poles.
7 On the table of show bread they shall spread a blue cloth, and put on it the dishes, the spoons, the bowls, and the cups with which to pour out; and the continual bread shall be on it.
8 They shall spread on them a scarlet cloth, and cover the same with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.
9 They shall take a blue cloth, and cover the menorah of the light, and its lamps, and its snuffers, and its snuff dishes, and all its oil vessels, with which they minister to it.
10 They shall put it and all its vessels within a covering of sealskin, and shall put it on the frame.
11 On the golden altar they shall spread a blue cloth, and cover it with a covering of sealskin, and shall put in its poles.
12 They shall take all the vessels of ministry, with which they minister in the sanctuary, and put them in a blue cloth, and cover them with a covering of sealskin, and shall put them on the frame.
13 They shall take away the ashes from the altar, and spread a purple cloth on it.
14 They shall put on it all its vessels, with which they minister about it, the fire pans, the flesh hooks, the shovels, and the basins; all the vessels of the altar; and they shall spread on it a covering of sealskin, and put in its poles.
15 "When Aharon and his sons have finished covering the sanctuary, and all the furniture of the sanctuary, as the camp moves forward; after that, the sons of Kehat shall come to carry it: but they shall not touch the sanctuary, lest they die. These things are the burden of the sons of Kehat in the Tent of Meeting.
16 "The charge of El`azar the son of Aharon the Kohen shall be the oil for the light, the sweet incense, the continual meal offering, and the anointing oil, the charge of all the tabernacle, and of all that is in it, the sanctuary, and its furnishings."
17 The LORD spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, saying,
18 "Don't cut off the tribe of the families of the Kehati from among the Levites;
19 but thus do to them, that they may live, and not die, when they approach to the most holy things: Aharon and his sons shall go in, and appoint them everyone to his service and to his burden;
20 but they shall not go in to see the sanctuary even for a moment, lest they die."
21 The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying,
22 "Take a census of the sons of Gershon also, by their fathers' houses, by their families;
23 from thirty years old and upward until fifty years old shall you number them; all who enter in to wait on the service, to do the work in the Tent of Meeting.
24 This is the service of the families of the Gershoni, in serving and in bearing burdens:
25 they shall carry the curtains of the tabernacle, and the Tent of Meeting, its covering, and the covering of sealskin that is above on it, and the screen for the door of the Tent of Meeting,
26 and the hangings of the court, and the screen for the door of the gate of the court, which is by the tabernacle and around the altar, and their cords, and all the instruments of their service, and whatever shall be done with them. Therein shall they serve.
27 At the mitzvah of Aharon and his sons shall be all the service of the sons of the Gershoni, in all their burden, and in all their service; and you shall appoint to them in charge all their burden.
28 This is the service of the families of the sons of the Gershoni in the Tent of Meeting: and their charge shall be under the hand of Itamar the son of Aharon the Kohen.
29 "As for the sons of Merari, you shall number them by their families, by their fathers' houses;
30 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old shall you number them, everyone who enters on the service, to do the work of the Tent of Meeting.
31 This is the charge of their burden, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the tabernacle's boards, its bars, its pillars, its sockets,
32 and the pillars of the court around it, and their sockets, and their pins, and their cords, with all their instruments, and with all their service: and by name you shall appoint the instruments of the charge of their burden.
33 This is the service of the families of the sons of Merari, according to all their service, in the Tent of Meeting, under the hand of Itamar the son of Aharon the Kohen."
34 Moshe and Aharon and the princes of the congregation numbered the sons of the Kehati by their families, and by their fathers' houses,
35 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting.
36 Those who were numbered of them by their families were two thousand seven hundred fifty.
37 These are those who were numbered of the families of the Kehati, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moshe and Aharon numbered according to the mitzvah of the LORD by Moshe.
38 Those who were numbered of the sons of Gershon, their families, and by their fathers' houses,
39 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
40 even those who were numbered of them, by their families, by their fathers' houses, were two thousand six hundred thirty.
41 These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Gershon, all who served in the Tent of Meeting, whom Moshe and Aharon numbered according to the mitzvah of the LORD.
42 Those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, by their families, by their fathers' houses,
43 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered into the service, for work in the Tent of Meeting,
44 even those who were numbered of them by their families, were three thousand two hundred.
45 These are those who were numbered of the families of the sons of Merari, whom Moshe and Aharon numbered according to the mitzvah of the LORD by Moshe.
46 All those who were numbered of the Levites, whom Moshe and Aharon and the princes of Yisra'el numbered, by their families, and by their fathers' houses,
47 from thirty years old and upward even to fifty years old, everyone who entered in to do the work of service, and the work of bearing burdens in the Tent of Meeting,
48 even those who were numbered of them, were eight thousand five hundred eighty.
49 According to the mitzvah of the LORD they were numbered by Moshe, everyone according to his service, and according to his burden. Thus were they numbered by him, as the LORD commanded Moshe.
Numbers 5
1 The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying,
2 "Command the children of Yisra'el that they put out of the camp every leper, and everyone who has an issue, and whoever is unclean by the dead.
3 Both male and female shall you put out, outside of the camp shall you put them; that they not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell."
4 The children of Yisra'el did so, and put them out outside of the camp; as the LORD spoke to Moshe, so did the children of Yisra'el.
5 The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying,
6 "Speak to the children of Yisra'el: When a man or woman commits any sin that men commit, so as to trespass against the LORD, and that soul is guilty;
7 then he shall confess his sin which he has done, and he shall make restitution for his guilt in full, and add to it the fifth part of it, and give it to him in respect of whom he has been guilty.
8 But if the man has no kinsman to whom restitution may be made for the guilt, the restitution for guilt which is made to the LORD shall be the Kohen's; besides the ram of the atonement, whereby atonement shall be made for him.
9 Every heave offering of all the holy things of the children of Yisra'el, which they present to the Kohen, shall be his.
10 Every man's holy things shall be his: whatever any man gives the Kohen, it shall be his."
11 The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying,
12 "Speak to the children of Yisra'el, and tell them: If any man's wife goes astray, and is unfaithful to him,
13 and a man lies with her carnally, and it is hidden from the eyes of her husband, and is kept close, and she is defiled, and there is no witness against her, and she isn't taken in the act;
14 and the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she is defiled: or if the spirit of jealousy comes on him, and he is jealous of his wife, and she isn't defiled:
15 then the man shall bring his wife to the Kohen, and shall bring her offering for her: the tenth part of an efah of barley meal. He shall pour no oil on it, nor put frankincense on it, for it is a meal offering of jealousy, a meal offering of memorial, bringing iniquity to memory.
16 The Kohen shall bring her near, and set her before the LORD;
17 and the Kohen shall take holy water in an earthen vessel; and of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle the Kohen shall take, and put it into the water.
18 The Kohen shall set the woman before the LORD, and let the hair of the woman's head go loose, and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands, which is the meal offering of jealousy. The Kohen shall have in his hand the water of bitterness that brings a curse.
19 The Kohen shall cause her to swear, and shall tell the woman, 'If no man has lain with you, and if you haven't gone aside to uncleanness, being under your husband, be free from this water of bitterness that brings a curse.
20 But if you have gone astray, being under your husband, and if you are defiled, and some man has lain with you besides your husband:'
21 then the Kohen shall cause the woman to swear with the oath of cursing, and the Kohen shall tell the woman, 'The LORD make you a curse and an oath among your people, when the LORD allows your thigh to fall away, and your body to swell;
22 and this water that brings a curse will go into your bowels, and make your body swell, and your thigh fall away.' The woman shall say, 'Amein, Amein.'
23 "The Kohen shall write these curses in a book, and he shall blot them out into the water of bitterness.
24 He shall make the woman drink the water of bitterness that causes the curse; and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her and become bitter.
25 The Kohen shall take the meal offering of jealousy out of the woman's hand, and shall wave the meal offering before the LORD, and bring it to the altar.
26 The Kohen shall take a handful of the meal offering, as the memorial of it, and burn it on the altar, and afterward shall make the woman drink the water.
27 When he has made her drink the water, then it shall happen, if she is defiled, and has committed a trespass against her husband, that the water that causes the curse will enter into her and become bitter, and her body will swell, and her thigh will fall away: and the woman will be a curse among her people.
28 If the woman isn't defiled, but is clean; then she shall be free, and shall conceive seed.
29 "This is the law of jealousy, when a wife, being under her husband, goes astray, and is defiled;
30 or when the spirit of jealousy comes on a man, and he is jealous of his wife; then he shall set the woman before the LORD, and the Kohen shall execute on her all this law.
31 The man shall be free from iniquity, and that woman shall bear her iniquity."
NEW TESTAMENT: MARK 12:18 - 37
12:18 There came to him Tzedukim, who say that there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying,
19 "Teacher, Moshe wrote to us, 'If a man's brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.'
20 There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.
21 The second took her, and died, leaving no children behind him. The third likewise;
22 and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
23 In the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife."
24 Yeshua answered them, "Isn't this because you are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God?
25 For when they will rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
26 But about the dead, that they are raised; haven't you read in the book of Moshe, at the Bush, how God spoke to him, saying, 'I am the God of Avraham, the God of Yitzchak, and the God of Ya`akov?'
27 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly mistaken."
28 One of the Sofrim came, and heard them questioning together. Knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, "What mitzvah is the greatest of all?"
29 Yeshua answered, "The greatest is, 'Hear, Yisra'el, the Lord our God, the Lord is one:
30 you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the primary mitzvah.
31 The second is like this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other mitzvah greater than these."
32 The Sofer said to him, "Truly, teacher, you have said well that he is one, and there is none other but he,
33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices."
34 When Yeshua saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." No one dared ask him any question after that.
35 Yeshua responded, as he taught in the temple, "How is it that the Sofrim say that the Messiah is the son of David?
36 For David himself said in the Ruach HaKodesh, 'The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, Until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet.'
37 Therefore David himself calls him Lord, so how can he be his son?" The common people heard him gladly.
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
