APRIL 14
PSALMS: 14, 44, 74, 104, 134
PROVERBS: 14
OLD TESTAMENT: 2 KINGS 23:31 - 23:30
NEW TESTAMENT: ACTS 22:17 - 23:10
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: 2 KINGS 23:31 - 25:30
23:31 Yeho'achaz was twenty-three years old when he began to reign; and he reigned three months in Yerushalayim: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu of Livna. 32 He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done. 33 Par`oh-Nekho put him in bonds at Rivlah in the land of Hamat, that he might not reign in Yerushalayim; and put the land to a tribute of one hundred talents of silver, and a talent of gold. 34 Par`oh-Nekho made Elyakim the son of Yoshiyahu king in the room of Yoshiyahu his father, and changed his name to Yehoiakim: but he took Yeho'achaz away; and he came to Mitzrayim, and died there. 35 Yehoiakim gave the silver and the gold to Par`oh; but he taxed the land to give the money according to the mitzvah of Par`oh: he exacted the silver and the gold of the people of the land, of everyone according to his taxation, to give it to Par`oh-Nekho. 36 Yehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Yerushalayim: and his mother's name was Zevudah the daughter of Pedayahu of Rumah 37 He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.
24:1 In his days Nevukhadnetztzar king of Bavel came up, and Yehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him. 2 The LORD sent against him bands of the Kasdim, and bands of the Aram, and bands of the Mo`avim, and bands of the children of `Ammon, and sent them against Yehudah to destroy it, according to the word of the LORD, which he spoke by his servants the prophets. 3 Surely at the mitzvah of the LORD came this on Yehudah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Menashsheh, according to all that he did, 4 and also for the innocent blood that he shed; for he filled Yerushalayim with innocent blood: and the LORD would not pardon. 5 Now the rest of the acts of Yehoiakim, and all that he did, aren't they written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Yehudah? 6 So Yehoiakim slept with his fathers; and Yehoiakim his son reigned in his place. 7 The king of Mitzrayim didn't come again out of his land any more; for the king of Bavel had taken, from the brook of Mitzrayim to the river Perat, all that pertained to the king of Mitzrayim. 8 Yehoiakim was eighteen years old when he began to reign; and he reigned in Yerushalayim three months: and his mother's name was Nechushta the daughter of Elnatan of Yerushalayim. 9 He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father had done. 10 At that time the servants of Nevukhadnetztzar king of Bavel came up to Yerushalayim, and the city was besieged. 11 Nevukhadnetztzar king of Bavel came to the city, while his servants were besieging it; 12 and Yehoiakim the king of Yehudah went out to the king of Bavel, he, and his mother, and his servants, and his princes, and his officers: and the king of Bavel took him in the eighth year of his reign. 13 He carried out there all the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king's house, and cut in pieces all the vessels of gold, which Shlomo king of Yisra'el had made in the temple of the LORD, as the LORD had said. 14 He carried away all Yerushalayim, and all the princes, and all the mighty men of valor, even ten thousand captives, and all the craftsmen and the smiths; none remained, save the poorest sort of the people of the land. 15 He carried away Yehoiakim to Bavel; and the king's mother, and the king's wives, and his officers, and the chief men of the land, carried he into captivity from Yerushalayim to Bavel. 16 All the men of might, even seven thousand, and the craftsmen and the smiths one thousand, all of them strong and apt for war, even them the king of Bavel brought captive to Bavel. 17 The king of Bavel made Mattanyah, [Yehoiakim's] father's brother, king is his place, and changed his name to Tzidkiyahu. 18 Tzidkiyahu was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; and he reigned eleven years in Yerushalayim: and his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Yirmeyahu of Livna. 19 He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that Yehoiakim had done. 20 For through the anger of the LORD did it happen in Yerushalayim and Yehudah, until he had cast them out from his presence. Tzidkiyahu rebelled against the king of Bavel.
25:1 It happened in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that Nevukhadnetztzar king of Bavel came, he and all his army, against Yerushalayim, and encamped against it; and they built forts against it round about. 2 So the city was besieged to the eleventh year of king Tzidkiyahu. 3 On the ninth day of the [fourth] month the famine was sore in the city, so that there was no bread for the people of the land. 4 Then a breach was made in the city, and all the men of war [fled] by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king's garden (now the Kasdim were against the city round about); and [the king] went by the way of the `Aravah. 5 But the army of the Kasdim pursued after the king, and overtook him in the plains of Yericho; and all his army was scattered from him. 6 Then they took the king, and carried him up to the king of Bavel to Rivlah; and they gave judgment on him.
7 They killed the sons of Tzidkiyahu before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Tzidkiyahu, and bound him in fetters, and carried him to Bavel. 8 Now in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of king Nevukhadnetztzar, king of Bavel, came Nevuzar'adan the captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Bavel, to Yerushalayim. 9 He burnt the house of the LORD, and the king's house; and all the houses of Yerushalayim, even every great house, burnt he with fire. 10 All the army of the Kasdim, who were [with] the captain of the guard, broke down the walls of Yerushalayim round about. 11 The residue of the people who were left in the city, and those who fell away, who fell to the king of Bavel, and the residue of the multitude, did Nevuzar'adan the captain of the guard carry away captive. 12 But the captain of the guard left of the poorest of the land to work the vineyards and fields. 13 The pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD, and the bases and the brazen sea that were in the house of the LORD, did the Kasdim break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Bavel. 14 The pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass with which they ministered, took they away. 15 The fire pans, and the basins, that which was of gold, in gold, and that which was of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16 The two pillars, the one sea, and the bases, which Shlomo had made for the house of the LORD, the brass of all these vessels was without weight.
17 The height of the one pillar was eighteen cubits, and a capital of brass was on it; and the height of the capital was three cubits, with network and pomegranates on the capital round about, all of brass: and like to these had the second pillar with network. 18 The captain of the guard took Serayah the chief Kohen, and Tzefanyah the second Kohen, and the three keepers of the threshold: 19 and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and five men of those who saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the Sofer, the captain of the host, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city. 20 Nevuzar'adan the captain of the guard took them, and brought them to the king of Bavel to Rivlah. 21 The king of Bavel struck them, and put them to death at Rivlah in the land of Hamat. So Yehudah was carried away captive out of his land. 22 As for the people who were left in the land of Yehudah, whom Nevukhadnetztzar king of Bavel had left, even over them he made Gedalyahu the son of Achikam, the son of Shafan, governor. 23 Now when all the captains of the forces, they and their men, heard that the king of Bavel had made Gedalyahu governor, they came to Gedalyahu to Mitzpah, even Yishma'el the son of Netanyah, and Yochanan the son of Kareach, and Serayah the son of Tanchumet the Netofatite, and Ya`azanyah the son of the Ma`akhatite, they and their men. 24 Gedalyahu swore to them and to their men, and said to them, Don't be afraid because of the servants of the Kasdim: dwell in the land, and serve the king of Bavel, and it shall be well with you. 25 But it happened in the seventh month, that Yishma'el the son of Netanyah, the son of Elishama, of the royal seed came, and ten men with him, and struck Gedalyahu, so that he died, and the Yehudim and the Kasdim that were with him at Mitzpah. 26 All the people, both small and great, and the captains of the forces, arose, and came to Mitzrayim; for they were afraid of the Kasdim. 27 It happened in the seven and thirtieth year of the captivity of Yehoiakim king of Yehudah, in the twelfth month, on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-Merodakh king of Bavel, in the year that he began to reign, did lift up the head of Yehoiakim king of Yehudah out of prison; 28 and he spoke kindly to him, and set his throne above the throne of the kings who were with him in Bavel, 29 and changed his prison garments. [Yehoiakim] ate bread before him continually all the days of his life: 30 and for his allowance, there was a continual allowance given him of the king, every day a portion, all the days of his life.
NEW TESTAMENT: ACTS 22:17 - 23:10
22:17 "It happened that, when I had returned to Yerushalayim, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, 18 and saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Yerushalayim quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.'19 I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. 20 When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.' 21 "He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Goyim.'" 22 They listened to him until he said that, then they lifted up their voice, and said, "Rid the eretz of this fellow, for he isn't fit to live!" 23 As they cried out, and threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, 24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. 25 When they had tied him up with thongs, Sha'ul asked the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?" 26 When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, "Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!" 27 The commanding officer came and asked him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes." 28 The commanding officer answered, "I bought my citizenship for a great price." Sha'ul said, "But I was born a Roman." 29 Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him. 30 But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Yehudim, he freed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief Kohanim and all the council to come together, and brought Sha'ul down and set him before them.
23:1 Sha'ul, looking steadfastly at the council, said, "Brothers, I have lived before God in all good conscience until this day." 2 The Kohen Gadol, Hananyah, commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Sha'ul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law?" 4 Those who stood by said, "Do you malign God's Kohen Gadol? 5 Sha'ul said, "I didn't know, brothers, that he was Kohen Gadol. For it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'" 6 But when Sha'ul perceived that the one part were Tzedukim and the other Perushim, he cried out in the council, "Men and brothers, I am a Parush, a son of Perushim. Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" 7 When he had said this, an argument arose between the Perushim and Tzedukim, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Tzedukim say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit; but the Perushim confess all of these. 9 A great clamor arose, and some of the Sofrim of the Perushim part stood up, and contended, saying, "We find no evil in this man. But if a spirit or angel has spoken to him, let's not fight against God!" 10 When a great argument arose, the commanding officer, fearing that Sha'ul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
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