Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
AUGUST
21
PSALMS: 20,
50, 80, 110, 140
PROVERBS: 20
OLD
TESTAMENT: EZEKIEL 21:1 - 22:31
NEW
TESTAMENT: HEBREWS 10:1 -
17
PSALMS: 21
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
O
LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.
How
great is his joy in the victories you give!
2
You
have granted him the desire of his heart
and
have not withheld the request of his lips.
Selah
3
You
welcomed him with rich blessings
and
placed a crown of pure gold on his head.
4
He
asked you for life, and you gave it to him--
length
of days, for ever and ever.
5
Through
the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you
have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.
6
Surely
you have granted him eternal blessings
and
made him glad with the joy of your presence.
7
For
the king trusts in the LORD;
through
the unfailing love of the Most High
he
will not be shaken.
8
Your
hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your
right hand will seize your foes.
9
At
the time of your appearing
you
will make them like a fiery furnace.
In
his wrath the LORD will swallow them up,
and
his fire will consume them.
10
You
will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their
posterity from mankind.
11
Though
they plot evil against you
and
devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;
12
for
you will make them turn their backs
when
you aim at them with drawn bow. [1]
13
Be
exalted, O LORD, in your strength;
we
will sing and praise your might. [2]
PSALMS: 51
For
the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him
after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1
Have
mercy on me, O God,
according
to your unfailing love;
according
to your great compassion
blot
out my transgressions.
2
Wash
away all my iniquity
and
cleanse me from my sin.
3
For
I know my transgressions,
and
my sin is always before me.
4
Against
you, you only, have I sinned
and
done what is evil in your sight,
so
that you are proved right when you speak
and
justified when you judge.
5
Surely
I was sinful at birth,
sinful
from the time my mother conceived me.
6
Surely
you desire truth in the inner parts A;
you
teach B me wisdom in the inmost place.
7
Cleanse
me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash
me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8
Let
me hear joy and gladness;
let
the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9
Hide
your face from my sins
and
blot out all my iniquity. [3]
10
Create
in me a pure heart, O God,
and
renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11
Do
not cast me from your presence
or
take your Holy Spirit from me.
12
Restore
to me the joy of your salvation
and
grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13
Then
I will teach transgressors your ways,
and
sinners will turn back to you.
14
Save
me from bloodguilt, O God,
the
God who saves me,
and
my tongue will sing of your righteousness.
15
O
Lord, open my lips,
and
my mouth will declare your praise.
16
You
do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
you
do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17
The
sacrifices of God are C a broken spirit;
a
broken and contrite heart,
O
God, you will not despise.
18
In
your good pleasure make Zion prosper;
build
up the walls of Jerusalem.
19
Then
there will be righteous sacrifices,
whole
burnt offerings to delight you;
then
bulls will be offered on your altar. [4]
PSALMS:
81
For
the director of music. According to gittith. A Of
Asaph.
1
Sing
for joy to God our strength;
shout
aloud to the God of Jacob!
2
Begin
the music, strike the tambourine,
play
the melodious harp and lyre.
3
Sound
the ram's horn at the New Moon,
and
when the moon is full, on the day of our Feast;
4
this
is a decree for Israel,
an
ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5
He
established it as a statute for Joseph
when
he went out against Egypt,
where
we heard a language we did not understand. B
6
He
says, "I removed the burden from their
shoulders;
their
hands were set free from the basket.
7
In
your distress you called and I rescued you,
I
answered you out of a thundercloud;
I
tested you at the waters of Meribah.
Selah
8
"Hear, O my people, and I will warn
you--
if
you would but listen to me, O Israel!
9 You
shall have no foreign god among you;
you
shall not bow down to an alien god.
10 I
am the LORD your God,
who
brought you up out of Egypt.
Open
wide your mouth and I will fill it.
[5]
11
"But my people would not listen to
me;
Israel
would not submit to me.
12 So
I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to
follow their own devices.
13
"If my people would but listen to
me,
if
Israel would follow my ways,
14 how
quickly would I subdue their enemies
and
turn my hand against their foes!
15 Those
who hate the LORD would cringe before him,
and
their punishment would last forever.
16 But
you would be fed with the finest of wheat;
with
honey from the rock I would satisfy you."
[6]
PSALMS: 111
1
Praise
A the LORD. B
I
will extol the LORD with all my heart
in
the council of the upright and in the assembly.
2
Great
are the works of the LORD;
they
are pondered by all who delight in them.
3
Glorious
and majestic are his deeds,
and
his righteousness endures forever.
4
He
has caused his wonders to be remembered;
the
LORD is gracious and compassionate.
5
He
provides food for those who fear him;
he
remembers his covenant forever.
6
He
has shown his people the power of his works,
giving
them the lands of other nations.
7
The
works of his hands are faithful and just;
all
his precepts are trustworthy.
8
They
are steadfast for ever and ever,
done
in faithfulness and uprightness.
9
He
provided redemption for his people;
he
ordained his covenant forever--
holy
and awesome is his name.
10
The
fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all
who follow his precepts have good understanding.
To
him belongs eternal praise. [7]
PSALMS: 141
A
psalm of David.
1
O
LORD, I call to you; come quickly to me.
Hear
my voice when I call to you.
2
May
my prayer be set before you like incense;
may
the lifting up of my hands be like the evening sacrifice.
3
Set
a guard over my mouth, O LORD;
keep
watch over the door of my lips.
4
Let
not my heart be drawn to what is evil,
to
take part in wicked deeds
with
men who are evildoers;
let
me not eat of their delicacies.
5
Let
a righteous man A strike me--it is a kindness;
let
him rebuke me--it is oil on my head.
My
head will not refuse it.
Yet
my prayer is ever against the deeds of evildoers;
6
their
rulers will be thrown down from the cliffs,
and
the wicked will learn that my words were well spoken.
7
They
will say, "As one plows and breaks up the earth,
so
our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.
B"
8
But
my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD;
in
you I take refuge--do not give me over to death.
9
Keep
me from the snares they have laid for me,
from
the traps set by evildoers.
10
Let
the wicked fall into their own nets,
while
I pass by in safety. [8]
PROVERBS: 21
21
1
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD;
he
directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.
2
All
a man's ways seem right to him,
but
the LORD weighs the heart.
3
To
do what is right and just
is
more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4
Haughty
eyes and a proud heart,
the
lamp of the wicked, are sin!
5
The
plans of the diligent lead to profit
as
surely as haste leads to poverty.
6
A
fortune made by a lying tongue
is
a fleeting vapor and a deadly snare. A
7
The
violence of the wicked will drag them away,
for
they refuse to do what is right.
8
The
way of the guilty is devious,
but
the conduct of the innocent is upright.
9
Better
to live on a corner of the roof
than
share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
10
The
wicked man craves evil;
his
neighbor gets no mercy from him. [9]
11
When
a mocker is punished, the simple gain wisdom;
when
a wise man is instructed, he gets knowledge.
12
The
Righteous One B takes note of the house of the
wicked
and
brings the wicked to ruin.
13
If
a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,
he
too will cry out and not be answered.
14
A
gift given in secret soothes anger,
and
a bribe concealed in the cloak pacifies great wrath.
15
When
justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous
but
terror to evildoers.
16
A
man who strays from the path of understanding
comes
to rest in the company of the dead.
17
He
who loves pleasure will become poor;
whoever
loves wine and oil will never be rich.
18
The
wicked become a ransom for the righteous,
and
the unfaithful for the upright.
19
Better
to live in a desert
than
with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife.
20
In
the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil,
but
a foolish man devours all he has.
21
He
who pursues righteousness and love
finds
life, prosperity C and honor. [10]
22
A
wise man attacks the city of the mighty
and
pulls down the stronghold in which they trust.
23
He
who guards his mouth and his tongue
keeps
himself from calamity.
24
The
proud and arrogant man--"Mocker" is his name;
he
behaves with overweening pride.
25
The
sluggard's craving will be the death of him,
because
his hands refuse to work.
26
All
day long he craves for more,
but
the righteous give without sparing.
27
The
sacrifice of the wicked is detestable--
how
much more so when brought with evil intent!
28
A
false witness will perish,
and
whoever listens to him will be destroyed forever.
D
29
A
wicked man puts up a bold front,
but
an upright man gives thought to his ways.
30
There
is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that
can succeed against the LORD.
31
The
horse is made ready for the day of battle,
but
victory rests with the LORD. [11]
OLD
TESTAMENT: EZEKIEL 21:1 - 22:31
21
1
The
word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man,
set your face against Jerusalem and preach against the sanctuary. Prophesy
against the land of Israel 3
and say to her: `This is what the LORD
says: I am against you. I will draw my sword from its scabbard and cut off from
you both the righteous and the wicked. 4
Because I am going to cut off the
righteous and the wicked, my sword will be unsheathed against everyone from
south to north. 5 Then all people will know that I the LORD have drawn my
sword from its scabbard; it will not return again.'
6 "Therefore
groan, son of man! Groan before them with broken heart and bitter grief.
7 And
when they ask you, `Why are you groaning?' you shall say, `Because of the news
that is coming. Every heart will melt and every hand go limp; every spirit will
become faint and every knee become as weak as water.' It is coming! It will
surely take place, declares the Sovereign LORD."
8
The
word of the LORD came to me: 9 "Son of man,
prophesy and say, `This is what the Lord says:
"`A
sword, a sword,
sharpened
and polished--
10 sharpened
for the slaughter,
polished
to flash like lightning!
"`Shall
we rejoice in the scepter of my son Judah? The sword despises every such stick.
11 "`The
sword is appointed to be polished,
to
be grasped with the hand;
it
is sharpened and polished,
made
ready for the hand of the slayer.
12 Cry
out and wail, son of man,
for
it is against my people;
it
is against all the princes of Israel.
They
are thrown to the sword
along
with my people.
Therefore
beat your breast.
[12]
13
"`Testing will surely come. And what if the scepter of Judah,
which the sword despises, does not continue? declares the Sovereign
LORD.'
14
"So then, son of man, prophesy
and
strike your hands together.
Let
the sword strike twice,
even
three times.
It
is a sword for slaughter--
a
sword for great slaughter,
closing
in on them from every side.
15 So
that hearts may melt
and
the fallen be many,
I
have stationed the sword for slaughter A
at
all their gates.
Oh!
It is made to flash like lightning,
it
is grasped for slaughter.
16 O
sword, slash to the right,
then
to the left,
wherever
your blade is turned.
17 I
too will strike my hands together,
and
my wrath will subside.
I
the LORD have spoken."
[13]
18
The
word of the LORD came to me: 19 "Son of
man, mark out two roads for the sword of the king of Babylon to take, both
starting from the same country. Make a signpost where the road branches off to
the city. 20 Mark out one road for the sword to come against Rabbah of
the Ammonites and another against Judah and fortified Jerusalem.
21 For the king of Babylon will stop at the fork in the road,
at the junction of the two roads, to seek an omen: He will cast lots with
arrows, he will consult his idols, he will examine the liver.
22 Into his right hand will come the lot for Jerusalem, where
he is to set up battering rams, to give the command to slaughter, to sound the
battle cry, to set battering rams against the gates, to build a ramp and to
erect siege works. 23 It will seem like a false omen to those who have sworn
allegiance to him, but he will remind them of their guilt and take them captive.
24 "Therefore
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: `Because you people have brought to mind
your guilt by your open rebellion, revealing your sins in all that you
do--because you have done this, you will be taken captive.
25
"`O
profane and wicked prince of Israel, whose day has come, whose time of
punishment has reached its climax, 26 this
is what the Sovereign LORD says: Take off the turban, remove the crown. It will
not be as it was: The lowly will be exalted and the exalted will be brought low.
27 A
ruin! A ruin! I will make it a ruin! It will not be restored until he comes to
whom it rightfully belongs; to him I will give it.'
28 "And
you, son of man, prophesy and say, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says about
the Ammonites and their insults:
"`A
sword, a sword,
drawn
for the slaughter,
polished
to consume
and
to flash like lightning!
29 Despite
false visions concerning you
and
lying divinations about you,
it
will be laid on the necks
of
the wicked who are to be slain,
whose
day has come,
whose
time of punishment has reached its climax.
30 Return
the sword to its scabbard.
In
the place where you were created,
I
will judge you.
31 I
will pour out my wrath upon you
and
breathe out my fiery anger against you;
I
will hand you over to brutal men,
men
skilled in destruction.
32 You
will be fuel for the fire,
your
blood will be shed in your land,
you
will be remembered no more;
for
I the LORD have spoken.'"
22
1
The
word of the LORD came to me: 2 "Son of man,
will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her
with all her detestable practices 3
and say: `This is what the Sovereign LORD
says: O city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and
defiles herself by making idols, 4
you have become guilty because of the
blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have
brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I
will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the
countries. 5 Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you,
O infamous city, full of turmoil.
6 "`See
how each of the princes of Israel who are in you uses his power to shed
blood.
7
In
you they have treated father and mother with contempt; in you they have
oppressed the alien and mistreated the fatherless and the widow.
8 You
have despised my holy things and desecrated my Sabbaths. 9 In
you are slanderous men bent on shedding blood; in you are those who eat at the
mountain shrines and commit lewd acts. 10 In
you are those who dishonor their fathers' bed; in you are those who violate
women during their period, when they are ceremonially unclean. 11 In
you one man commits a detestable offense with his neighbor's wife, another
shamefully defiles his daughter-in-law, and another violates his sister, his own
father's daughter. 12 In
you men accept bribes to shed blood; you take usury and excessive interest
A
and make unjust gain from your neighbors by extortion. And you have forgotten
me, declares the Sovereign LORD.
13 "`I
will surely strike my hands together at the unjust gain you have made and at the
blood you have shed in your midst. 14 Will
your courage endure or your hands be strong in the day I deal with you? I the
LORD have spoken, and I will do it. 15 I
will disperse you among the nations and scatter you through the countries; and I
will put an end to your uncleanness. 16 When
you have been defiledB in the eyes of the nations, you will [15]know
that I am the LORD.'"
17 Then
the word of the LORD came to me: 18 "Son
of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me; all of them are the copper,
tin, iron and lead left inside a furnace. They are but the dross of silver.
19 Therefore
this is what the Sovereign LORD says: `Because you have all become dross, I will
gather you into Jerusalem. 20
As
men gather silver, copper, iron, lead and tin into a furnace to melt it with a
fiery blast, so will I gather you in my anger and my wrath and put you inside
the city and melt you. 21
I
will gather you and I will blow on you with my fiery wrath, and you will be
melted inside her. 22 As
silver is melted in a furnace, so you will be melted inside her, and you will
know that I the LORD have poured out my wrath upon you.'"
23
Again
the word of the LORD came to me: 24 "Son of
man, say to the land, `You are a land that has had no rain or
showersC in the day of wrath.' 25 There is a
conspiracy of her princesD within her like a roaring lion tearing its
prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many
widows within her. 26 Her priests do violence to my law and profane my holy
things; they do not distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that
there is no difference between the unclean and the clean; and they shut their
eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them.
27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey;
they shed blood and kill people to make unjust gain. 28 Her prophets whitewash these deeds for them by false visions
and lying divinations. They say, `This is what the Sovereign LORD says'--when
the LORD has not spoken. 29
The people of the land practice extortion
and commit robbery; they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien,
denying them justice.
30
"I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall
and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to
destroy it, but I found none. 31
So I will pour out my wrath on them and
consume them with my fiery anger, bringing down on their own heads all they have
done, declares the Sovereign LORD." [16]
NEW
TESTAMENT: HEBREWS 10:1 -
17
10
1
The
law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming--not the realities
themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated
endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. 2
If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers
would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for
their sins. 3 But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins,
4 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take
away sins.
5
Therefore,
when Christ came into the world, he said:
"Sacrifice and offering you did not desire,
but
a body you prepared for me;
6 with
burnt offerings and sin offerings
you
were not pleased.
7 Then
I said, `Here I am--it is written about me in the scroll--
I
have come to do your will, O God.'"
A
8 First he said, "Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings
you did not desire, nor were you pleased with them" (although the law
required them to be made).
9
Then
he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your
will." He sets aside the first to establish the second. 10 And
by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all.
11
Day
after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again
he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But
when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at
the right hand of God.
13
Since
that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14
because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being
made holy.
15
The
Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says:
16
"This is the covenant I will make with them
after
that time, says the Lord.
I
will put my laws in their hearts,
and
I will write them on their minds." B
"Their
sins and lawless acts
[1]
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[2]
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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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