Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
DECEMBER
20
PSALMS: 20, 50, 80, 110,
140
PROVERBS: 20
OLD
TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 15:17 - 16:40
NEW
TESTAMENT: MARK 15:1 - 47
PSALMS: 20
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
May
the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may
the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2
May
he send you help from the sanctuary
and
grant you support from Zion.
3
May
he remember all your sacrifices
and
accept your burnt offerings.
Selah
4
May
he give you the desire of your heart
and
make all your plans succeed.
5
We
will shout for joy when you are victorious
and
will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May
the LORD grant all your requests.
6
Now
I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he
answers him from his holy heaven
with
the saving power of his right hand.
7
Some
trust in chariots and some in horses,
but
we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8
They
are brought to their knees and fall,
but
we rise up and stand firm.
9
O
LORD, save the king!
Answer
A us when we call! [1]
PSALMS: 50
A
psalm of Asaph.
1
The
Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks
and summons the earth
from
the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.
2
From
Zion, perfect in beauty,
God
shines forth.
3
Our
God comes and will not be silent;
a
fire devours before him,
and
around him a tempest rages.
4
He
summons the heavens above,
and
the earth, that he may judge his people:
5
"Gather to me my consecrated
ones,
who
made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
6
And
the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for
God himself is judge.
Selah
7
"Hear, O my people, and I will
speak,
O
Israel, and I will testify against you:
I
am God, your God.
8 I
do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or
your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I
have no need of a bull from your stall
or
of goats from your pens,
10 for
every animal of the forest is mine,
and
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I
know every bird in the mountains,
and
the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If
I were hungry I would not tell you, [2]
for
the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do
I eat the flesh of bulls
or
drink the blood of goats?
14 Sacrifice
thank offerings to God,
fulfill
your vows to the Most High,
15 and
call upon me in the day of trouble;
I
will deliver you, and you will honor me."
16
But
to the wicked, God says:
"What right have you to recite my
laws
or
take my covenant on your lips?
17 You
hate my instruction
and
cast my words behind you.
18 When
you see a thief, you join with him;
you
throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You
use your mouth for evil
and
harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You
speak continually against your brother
and
slander your own mother's son.
21 These
things you have done and I kept silent;
you
thought I was altogetherA like you.
But
I will rebuke you
and
accuse you to your face.
22
"Consider this, you who forget
God,
or
I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:
23 He
who sacrifices thank offerings honors me,
and
he prepares the way
PSALMS: 80
For
the director of music. To the tune of "The Lilies of the Covenant." Of Asaph. A
psalm.
1
Hear
us, O Shepherd of Israel,
you
who lead Joseph like a flock;
you
who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
2
before
Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken
your might;
come
and save us.
3
Restore
us, O God;
make
your face shine upon us,
that
we may be saved.
4
O
LORD God Almighty,
how
long will your anger smolder
against
the prayers of your people?
5
You
have fed them with the bread of tears;
you
have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6
You
have made us a source of contention to our neighbors,
and
our enemies mock us.
7
Restore
us, O God Almighty;
make
your face shine upon us,
that
we may be saved.
8
You
brought a vine out of Egypt;
you
drove out the nations and planted it.
9
You
cleared the ground for it,
and
it took root and filled the land.
10
The
mountains were covered with its shade,
the
mighty cedars with its branches. [4]
11
It
sent out its boughs to the Sea, A
its
shoots as far as the River. B
12
Why
have you broken down its walls
so
that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13
Boars
from the forest ravage it
and
the creatures of the field feed on it.
14
Return
to us, O God Almighty!
Look
down from heaven and see!
Watch
over this vine,
15
the
root your right hand has planted,
the
son C you have raised up for yourself.
16
Your
vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at
your rebuke your people perish.
17
Let
your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the
son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18
Then
we will not turn away from you;
revive
us, and we will call on your name.
19
Restore
us, O LORD God Almighty;
make
your face shine upon us,
that
we may be saved. [5]
PSALMS: 110
Of
David. A psalm.
1
The
LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
until
I make your enemies
a
footstool for your feet."
2
The
LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;
you
will rule in the midst of your enemies.
3
Your
troops will be willing
on
your day of battle.
Arrayed
in holy majesty,
from
the womb of the dawn
you
will receive the dew of your youth. A
4
The
LORD has sworn
and
will not change his mind:
"You are a priest forever,
in
the order of Melchizedek."
5
The
Lord is at your right hand;
he
will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6
He
will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and
crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7
He
will drink from a brook beside the way B;
therefore
he will lift up his head. [6]
PSALMS: 140
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
Rescue
me, O LORD, from evil men;
protect
me from men of violence,
2
who
devise evil plans in their hearts
and
stir up war every day.
3
They
make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;
the
poison of vipers is on their lips.
Selah
4
Keep
me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect
me from men of violence
who
plan to trip my feet.
5
Proud
men have hidden a snare for me;
they
have spread out the cords of their net
and
have set traps for me along my path.
Selah
6
O
LORD, I say to you, "You are my God."
Hear,
O LORD, my cry for mercy.
7
O
Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,
who
shields my head in the day of battle--
8
do
not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD;
do
not let their plans succeed,
or
they will become proud.
Selah
9
Let
the heads of those who surround me
be
covered with the trouble their lips have caused.
10Let
burning coals fall upon them;
may
they be thrown into the fire,
into
miry pits, never to rise. [7]
11
Let
slanderers not be established in the land;
may
disaster hunt down men of violence.
12
I
know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
and
upholds the cause of the needy.
13
Surely
the righteous will praise your name
and
the upright will live before you. [8]
PROVERBS: 20
20
1
Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;
whoever
is led astray by them is not wise.
2
A
king's wrath is like the roar of a lion;
he
who angers him forfeits his life.
3
It
is to a man's honor to avoid strife,
but
every fool is quick to quarrel.
4
A
sluggard does not plow in season;
so
at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
5
The
purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,
but
a man of understanding draws them out.
6
Many
a man claims to have unfailing love,
but
a faithful man who can find?
7
The
righteous man leads a blameless life;
blessed
are his children after him.
8
When
a king sits on his throne to judge,
he
winnows out all evil with his eyes.
9
Who
can say, "I have kept my heart pure;
I
am clean and without sin"?
10
Differing
weights and differing measures--
the
LORD detests them both.
11
Even
a child is known by his actions,
by
whether his conduct is pure and right. [9]
12
Ears
that hear and eyes that see--
the
LORD has made them both.
13
Do
not love sleep or you will grow poor;
stay
awake and you will have food to spare.
14
"It's
no good, it's no good!" says the buyer;
then
off he goes and boasts about his purchase.
15
Gold
there is, and rubies in abundance,
but
lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
16
Take
the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;
hold
it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.
17
Food
gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man,
but
he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
18
Make
plans by seeking advice;
if
you wage war, obtain guidance.
19
A
gossip betrays a confidence;
so
avoid a man who talks too much.
20
If
a man curses his father or mother,
his
lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.
21
An
inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
will
not be blessed at the end.
22
Do
not say, "I'll pay you back for this wrong!"
Wait
for the LORD, and he will deliver you.[10]
23
The
LORD detests differing weights,
and
dishonest scales do not please him.
24
A
man's steps are directed by the LORD.
How
then can anyone understand his own way?
25
It
is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly
and
only later to consider his vows.
26
A
wise king winnows out the wicked;
he
drives the threshing wheel over them.
27
The
lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man
A;
it
searches out his inmost being.
28
Love
and faithfulness keep a king safe;
through
love his throne is made secure.
29
The
glory of young men is their strength,
gray
hair the splendor of the old.
30
Blows
and wounds cleanse away evil,
and
beatings purge the inmost being. [11]
OLD
TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 15:17 - 16:40
17
The
LORD said to Moses, 18 "Speak to the
Israelites and say to them: `When you enter the land to which I am taking you
19 and you eat the food of the land,
present a portion as an offering to the LORD. 20 Present a cake from the first of your ground meal and
present it as an offering from the threshing floor. 21 Throughout the generations to come you are to give this
offering to the LORD from the first of your ground meal.
22
"`Now if you unintentionally fail to keep any of these commands the LORD gave
Moses—23
any of the LORD's commands to you through him, from the day the LORD gave them
and continuing through the generations to come—24
and if this is done unintentionally without the community being aware of it,
then the whole community is to offer a young bull for a burnt offering as an
aroma pleasing to the LORD, along with its prescribed grain offering and drink
offering, and a male goat for a sin offering.
25
The priest is to make atonement for the whole Israelite community, and they will
be forgiven, for it was not intentional and they have brought to the LORD for
their wrong an offering made by fire and a sin offering. 26
The whole Israelite community and the aliens living among them will be forgiven,
because all the people were involved in the unintentional wrong.
27
"`But if just one person sins unintentionally, he must bring a year-old female
goat for a sin offering. 28
The priest is to make atonement before the LORD for the one who erred by sinning
unintentionally, and when atonement has been made for him, he will be forgiven.
29
One and the same law applies to everyone who sins unintentionally, whether he is
a native-born Israelite or an alien.
30
"`But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the
LORD, and that person must be cut off from his people. 31
Because he has despised the LORD's word and broken his commands, that person
must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.' "
32
While
the Israelites were in the desert, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath
day. 33 Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and
Aaron and the whole assembly, 34 and they kept him in custody,
because it was not clear what should be done to him. 35 Then the LORD
said to Moses, "The man must die. The whole assembly
must stone him outside the camp." 36 So the assembly took him
outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD commanded Moses.
37
The
LORD said to Moses, 38 "Speak to the
Israelites and say to them: `Throughout the generations to come you are to make
tassels on the corners of your garments, with a blue cord on each tassel.
39 You will have these tassels to
look at and so you will remember all the commands of the LORD, that you may obey
them and not prostitute yourselves by going after the lusts of your own hearts
and eyes. 40 Then you will remember
to obey all my commands and will be consecrated to your God.
41 I am the LORD your God, who
brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the LORD your God.'" [12]
16
1
Korah
son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, and certain Reubenites--Dathan
and Abiram, sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth--became insolent A
2 and rose up against Moses. With them were 250 Israelite men,
well-known community leaders who had been appointed members of the council.
3 They came as a group to oppose Moses and Aaron and said to them,
"You have gone too far! The whole community is holy, every one of them, and the
LORD is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the LORD's assembly?"
4
When
Moses heard this, he fell facedown. 5 Then he said to Korah and all
his followers: "In the morning the LORD will show who belongs to him and who is
holy, and he will have that person come near him. The man he chooses he will
cause to come near him.
6
You,
Korah, and all your followers are to do this: Take censers 7 and
tomorrow put fire and incense in them before the LORD. The man the LORD chooses
will be the one who is holy. You Levites have gone too far!"
8
Moses
also said to Korah, "Now listen, you Levites! 9 Isn't it enough for
you that the God of Israel has separated you from the rest of the Israelite
community and brought you near himself to do the work at the LORD's tabernacle
and to stand before the community and minister to them? 10 He has
brought you and all your fellow Levites near himself, but now you are trying to
get the priesthood too. 11 It is against the LORD that you and all
your followers have banded together. Who is Aaron that you should grumble
against him?"
12
Then
Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab. But they said, "We will not
come! 13 Isn't it enough that you have brought us up out of a land
flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert? And now you also want to
lord it over us? 14 Moreover, you haven't brought us into a land
flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards.
Will you gouge out the eyes of B these men? No, we will not come!"
15
Then
Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, "Do not accept their offering. I
have not taken so much as a donkey from them, nor have I wronged any of them."
16
Moses
said to Korah, "You and all your followers are to appear before the LORD
tomorrow--you and they and Aaron. 17 Each man is to take his censer
and put incense in it--250 censers in all--and present it before the LORD. You
and Aaron are to present your censers also." 18 So each man took his
censer, put fire and incense in it, and stood with Moses and Aaron at the
entrance to the Tent of Meeting. 19 When Korah had gathered all his
followers in opposition to them at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the
glory of the LORD appeared to the entire assembly. 20 The LORD said
to Moses and Aaron, 21 "Separate yourselves
from this assembly so I can put an end to them at once."
22
But
Moses and Aaron fell facedown and cried out, "O God, God of the spirits of all
mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"
23
Then
the LORD said to Moses, 24 "Say to the
assembly, `Move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram.' "
25
Moses
got up and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him.
26 He warned the assembly, "Move back from the [13]
tents of these wicked men! Do not touch anything belonging to them, or you will
be swept away because of all their sins." 27 So they moved away from
the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Dathan and Abiram had come out and were
standing with their wives, children and little ones at the entrances to their
tents.
28
Then
Moses said, "This is how you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these
things and that it was not my idea: 29 If these men die a natural
death and experience only what usually happens to men, then the LORD has not
sent me. 30 But if the LORD brings about something totally new, and
the earth opens its mouth and swallows them, with everything that belongs to
them, and they go down alive into the grave, C then you will know
that these men have treated the LORD with contempt."
31
As
soon as he finished saying all this, the ground under them split apart 32
and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households
and all Korah's men and all their possessions. 33 They went down
alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them,
and they perished and were gone from the community. 34 At their
cries, all the Israelites around them fled, shouting, "The earth is going to
swallow us too!"
35
And
fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the
incense.
36
The
LORD said to Moses, 37 "Tell Eleazar son of
Aaron, the priest, to take the censers out of the smoldering remains and scatter
the coals some distance away, for the censers are holy—38 the censers of the men who sinned at the cost of their
lives. Hammer the censers into sheets to overlay the altar, for they were
presented before the LORD and have become holy. Let them be a sign to the
Israelites."
39
So
Eleazar the priest collected the bronze censers brought by those who had been
burned up, and he had them hammered out to overlay the altar, 40 as
the LORD directed him through Moses. This was to remind the Israelites that no
one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD, or
he would become like Korah and his followers. [14]
NEW
TESTAMENT: MARK 15:1 - 47
15
1
Very
early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the
law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision. They bound Jesus, led him away
and handed him over to Pilate.
2
"Are
you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate.
"Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.
3
The
chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked
him, "Aren't you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of."
5
But
Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6
Now
it was the custom at the Feast to release a prisoner whom the people requested.
7
A
man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed
murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do
for them what he usually did.
9
"Do
you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?" asked Pilate, 10
knowing it was out of envy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to
him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate
release Barabbas instead.
12
"What
shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?" Pilate asked
them.
13
"Crucify
him!" they shouted.
14
"Why?
What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But
they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
15
Wanting
to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged,
and handed him over to be crucified.
16
The
soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called
together the whole company of soldiers. 17 They put a purple robe on
him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. 18
And they began to call out to him, "Hail, king of the Jews!" 19
Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him.
Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. 20 And when they had
mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then
they led him out to crucify him.
21
A
certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing
by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.
22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The
Place of the Skull).
23
Then
they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24
And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see
what each would get.
25
It
was the third hour when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of
the charge against him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS. 27 They crucified
two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left. A 29
Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and [15]
saying, "So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days,
30 come down from the cross and save yourself!"
31
In
the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among
themselves. "He saved others," they said, "but he can't save himself! 32
Let this Christ, B this King of Israel, come down now from the
cross, that we may see and believe." Those crucified with him also heaped
insults on him.
33
At
the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama
sabachthani?"--which means, "My God, my
God, why have you forsaken me?" C
35
When
some of those standing near heard this, they said, "Listen, he's calling
Elijah."
36
One
man ran, filled a sponge with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to
Jesus to drink. "Now leave him alone. Let's see if Elijah comes to take him
down," he said.
37
With
a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last.
38
The
curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. 39 And when
the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and D
saw how he died, he said, "Surely this man was the Son E of God!"
40
Some
women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the
mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome. 41 In Galilee
these women had followed him and cared for his needs. Many other women who had
come up with him to Jerusalem were also there.
42
It
was Preparation Day (that is, the day before the Sabbath). So as evening
approached, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent member of the
Council, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, went boldly to Pilate
and asked for Jesus' body. 44 Pilate was surprised to hear that he
was already dead. Summoning the centurion, he asked him if Jesus had already
died. 45 When he learned from the centurion that it was so, he gave
the body to Joseph. 46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down
the body, wrapped it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock. Then
he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. 47 Mary Magdalene
and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid. [16]
[1]
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[2]
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[9]
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[10]
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[11]
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[12]
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[13]
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[14]
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[15]
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[16]
Excerpted from Compton
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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