Genesis 1:1 1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
DECEMBER
21
PSALMS: 21, 51, 81, 111,
141
PROVERBS: 21
OLD
TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 16:41 - 18:32
NEW
TESTAMENT: MARK 16:1 - 20
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: NUMBERS 16:41 - 18:32
41
The
next day the whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. "You
have killed the LORD's people," they said.
42
But
when the assembly gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron and turned toward
the Tent of Meeting, suddenly the cloud covered it and the glory of the LORD
appeared. 43 Then Moses and Aaron went to the front of the Tent of
Meeting, 44 and the LORD said to Moses, 45 "Get away from this assembly so I can put an end to them at
once." And they fell facedown.
46
Then
Moses said to Aaron, "Take your censer and put incense in it, along with fire
from the altar, and hurry to the assembly to make atonement for them. Wrath has
come out from the LORD; the plague has started." 47 So Aaron did as
Moses said, and ran into the midst of the assembly. The plague had already
started among the people, but Aaron offered the incense and made atonement for
them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague
stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to
those who had died because of Korah. 50 Then Aaron returned to Moses
at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, for the plague had
stopped.
17
1
The
LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to the
Israelites and get twelve staffs from them, one from the leader of each of their
ancestral tribes. Write the name of each man on his staff.
3 On the staff of Levi write Aaron's
name, for there must be one staff for the head of each ancestral tribe.
4 Place them in the Tent of Meeting
in front of the Testimony, where I meet with you. 5 The staff belonging to the man I choose will sprout, and I
will rid myself of this constant grumbling against you by the
Israelites."
6
So
Moses spoke to the Israelites, and their leaders gave him twelve staffs, one for
the leader of each of their ancestral tribes, and Aaron's staff was among them.
7 Moses placed the staffs before the LORD in the Tent of the
Testimony.
8
The
next day Moses entered the Tent of the Testimony and saw that Aaron's staff,
which represented the house of Levi, had not only sprouted but had budded,
blossomed and produced almonds. 9 Then Moses brought out all the
staffs from the LORD's presence to all the Israelites. They looked at them, and
each man took his own staff.
10
The
LORD said to Moses, "Put back Aaron's staff in
front of the Testimony, to be kept as a sign to the rebellious. This will put an
end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die." 11
Moses did just as the LORD commanded him.
12
The
Israelites said to Moses, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! 13
Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die. Are we all
going to die?" [12]
18
1
The
LORD said to Aaron, "You, your sons and your father's
family are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the sanctuary, and
you and your sons alone are to bear the responsibility for offenses against the
priesthood. 2 Bring your fellow
Levites from your ancestral tribe to join you and assist you when you and your
sons minister before the Tent of the Testimony. 3 They are to be responsible to you and are to perform all the
duties of the Tent, but they must not go near the furnishings of the sanctuary
or the altar, or both they and you will die. 4 They are to join you and be responsible for the care of the
Tent of Meeting--all the work at the Tent--and no one else may come near where
you are.
5
"You are to be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the altar, so that
wrath will not fall on the Israelites again. 6
I myself have selected your fellow Levites from among the Israelites as a gift
to you, dedicated to the LORD to do the work at the Tent of Meeting.
7
But only you and your sons may serve as priests in connection with everything at
the altar and inside the curtain. I am giving you the service of the priesthood
as a gift. Anyone else who comes near the sanctuary must be put to
death."
8
Then
the LORD said to Aaron, "I myself have put you in
charge of the offerings presented to me; all the holy offerings the Israelites
give me I give to you and your sons as your portion and regular share.
9 You are to have the part of the
most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the gifts they bring me
as most holy offerings, whether grain or sin or guilt offerings, that part
belongs to you and your sons. 10 Eat
it as something most holy; every male shall eat it. You must regard it as
holy.
11
"This also is yours: whatever is set aside from the gifts of
all the wave offerings of the Israelites. I give this to you and your sons and
daughters as your regular share. Everyone in your household who is ceremonially
clean may eat it.
12
"I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they
give the LORD as the firstfruits of their harvest. 13
All the land's firstfruits that they bring to the LORD will be yours. Everyone
in your household who is ceremonially clean may eat it.
14"Everything
in Israel that is devoted A
to the LORD is yours. 15
The
first offspring of every womb, both man and animal, that is offered to the LORD
is yours. But you must redeem every firstborn son and every firstborn male of
unclean animals. 16
When they are a month old, you must redeem them at the redemption price set at
five shekels B
of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which weighs twenty gerahs.
17
"But you must not redeem the firstborn of an ox, a sheep or a goat; they are
holy. Sprinkle their blood on the altar and burn their fat as an offering made
by fire, an aroma pleasing to the LORD. 18
Their meat is to be yours, just as the breast of the wave offering and the right
thigh are yours. 19
Whatever is set aside from the holy offerings the Israelites present to the LORD
I give to you and your sons and daughters as your regular share. It is an
everlasting covenant of salt before the LORD for both you and your
offspring."
20
The
LORD said to Aaron, "You will have no inheritance in
their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your
[13] inheritance among the Israelites.
21
"I give to the Levites all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance in return
for the work they do while serving at the Tent of Meeting. 22
From now on the Israelites must not go near the Tent of Meeting, or they will
bear the consequences of their sin and will die.
23
It is the Levites who are to do the work at the Tent of Meeting and bear the
responsibility for offenses against it. This is a lasting ordinance for the
generations to come. They will receive no inheritance among the Israelites.
24
Instead, I give to the Levites as their inheritance the tithes that the
Israelites present as an offering to the LORD. That is why I said concerning
them: `They will have no inheritance among the Israelites.'"
25
The
LORD said to Moses, 26 "Speak to the
Levites and say to them: `When you receive from the Israelites the tithe I give
you as your inheritance, you must present a tenth of that tithe as the LORD's
offering. 27 Your offering will be
reckoned to you as grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.
28 In this way you also will present
an offering to the LORD from all the tithes you receive from the Israelites.
From these tithes you must give the LORD's portion to Aaron the priest.
29 You must present as the LORD's
portion the best and holiest part of everything given to you.'
30
"Say to the Levites: `When you present the best part, it will be reckoned to you
as the product of the threshing floor or the winepress. 31
You and your households may eat the rest of it anywhere, for it is your wages
for your work at the Tent of Meeting. 32
By presenting the best part of it you will not be guilty in this matter; then
you will not defile the holy offerings of the Israelites, and you will not
die.'"[14]
NEW
TESTAMENT: MARK 16:1 - 20
16
1
When
the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome
bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. 2 Very
early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way
to the tomb 3 and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone
away from the entrance of the tomb?"
4
But
when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been
rolled away. 5 As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed
in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
6
"Don't
be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was
crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him.
7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter, `He is going ahead of you
into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' "
8
Trembling
and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to
anyone, because they were afraid.
[The
most reliable early manuscripts and other ancient witnesses do not have Mark
16:9-20.]
9
When
Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary
Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. 10 She went and
told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. 11
When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did
not believe it.
12
Afterward
Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the
country. 13 These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did
not believe them either.
14
Later
Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack
of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he
had risen.
15
He
said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the
good news to all creation.
16
Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe
will be condemned. 17
And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out
demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18
they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it
will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they
will get well."
19
After
the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the
right hand of God. 20 Then the disciples went out and preached
everywhere, and the Lord worked with them and confirmed his word by the signs
that accompanied it. [15]
[1]
Excerpted from Compton
[2]
Excerpted from Compton
[3]
Excerpted from Compton
[4]
Excerpted from Compton
[5]
Excerpted from Compton
[6]
Excerpted from Compton
[7]
Excerpted from Compton
[8]
Excerpted from Compton
[9]
Excerpted from Compton
[10]
Excerpted from Compton
[11]
Excerpted from Compton
[12]
Excerpted from Compton
[13]
Excerpted from Compton
[14]
Excerpted from Compton
[15]
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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