DECEMBER 24
PSALMS: 24, 54, 84, 114, 144
PROVERBS: 24
OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 22:21 - 22:30
NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 1:57 - 80
PSALMS: 24
1 The eretz is the LORD's, with its fullness;
The world, and those who dwell therein.
2 For he has founded it on the seas,
And established it on the floods.
3 Who may ascend to the LORD's hill?
Who may stand in his holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart;
Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood,
And has not sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
Righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 This is the generation of those who seek Him,
Who seek your face -- even Ya`akov.
Selah.
7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
Be lifted up, you everlasting doors:
The King of glory will come in.
8 Who is the King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
The LORD mighty in battle.
9 Lift up your heads, you gates;
Yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors:
The King of glory will come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD of Hosts,
He is the King of glory.
Selah.
PSALMS: 54
1 Save me, God, by your name.
Vindicate me in your might.
2 Hear my prayer, God.
Listen to the words of my mouth.
3 For strangers have risen up against me.
Violent men have sought after my soul.
They haven't set God before them.
Selah.
4 Behold, God is my helper.
The Lord is the one who sustains my soul.
5 He will repay the evil to my enemies.
Destroy them in your truth.
6 With a free will offering, I will sacrifice to you.
I will give thanks to your name, LORD, for it is good.
7 For he has delivered me out of all trouble.
My eye has seen triumph over my enemies.
PSALMS: 84
1 How lovely are your dwellings,
LORD of Hosts!
2 My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of the LORD.
My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Yes, the sparrow has found a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young,
Near your altars, LORD of Hosts,
My King, and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house.
They are always praising you. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in you;
Who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage.
6 Passing through the valley of Weeping,
they make it a place of springs.
Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings.
7 They go from strength to strength.
Everyone of them appears before God in Tziyon.
8 LORD, God Tzva'ot, hear my prayer.
Listen, God of Ya`akov.
Selah.
9 Behold, God our shield,
Look at the face of your anointed.
10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God,
Than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and a shield.
The LORD will give grace and glory.
He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.
12 LORD of Hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in you.
PSALMS: 114
1 When Yisra'el went forth out of Mitzrayim,
The house of Ya`akov from a people of foreign language;
2 Yehudah became his sanctuary,
Yisra'el his dominion.
3 The sea saw it, and fled.
The Yarden was driven back.
4 The mountains skipped like rams,
The little hills like lambs.
5 What was it, you sea, that you fled?
You Yarden, that you turned back?
6 You mountains, that you skipped like rams;
You little hills, like lambs?
7 Tremble, you eretz, at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the God of Ya`akov,
8 Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a spring of waters.
PSALMS: 144
1 Blessed be the LORD, my rock,
Who teaches my hands to war,
And my fingers to battle:
2 My loving kindness, my fortress,
My high tower, my deliverer,
My shield, and he in whom I take refuge;
Who subdues my people under me.
3 LORD, what is man, that you care for him?
Or the son of man, that you think of him?
4 Man is like a breath.
His days are like a shadow that passes away.
5 Part your heavens, LORD, and come down.
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.
6 Throw out lightning, and scatter them.
Send out your arrows, and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from above,
Rescue me, and deliver me out of great waters,
Out of the hands of foreigners;
8 Whose mouths speak deceit,
Whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing a new song to you, God.
On a ten-stringed lyre,
I will sing praises to you.
10 You are he who gives salvation to kings,
Who rescues David, his servant, from the deadly sword.
11 Rescue me, and deliver me out of the hands of foreigners,
Whose mouths speak deceit,
Whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 Then our sons will be like well-nurtured plants,
Our daughters like pillars carved to adorn a palace.
13 Our barns are full, filled with all kinds of provision.
Our sheep bring forth thousands and ten thousands in our fields.
14 Our oxen will pull heavy loads.
There is no breaking in, and no going away,
And no outcry in our streets.
15 Happy are the people who are in such a situation.
Happy are the people whose God is the LORD.
PROVERBS: 24
1 Don't you be envious against evil men;
Neither desire to be with them:
2 For their hearts plot violence,
And their lips talk about mischief.
3 Through wisdom a house is built;
By understanding it is established;
4 By knowledge the rooms are filled
With all rare and beautiful treasure.
5 A wise man has great power;
And a knowledgeable man increases strength;
6 For by wise guidance you wage your war;
And victory is in many advisors.
7 Wisdom is too high for a fool:
He doesn't open his mouth in the gate.
8 One who plots to do evil
Will be called a schemer.
9 The schemes of folly are sin.
The mocker is detested by men.
10 If you falter in the time of trouble,
Your strength is small.
11 Rescue those who are being led away to death!
Indeed, hold back those who are staggering to the slaughter!
12 If you say,
"Behold, we didn't know this;"
Doesn't he who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, doesn't he know it?
Shall he not render to every man according to his work?
13 My son, eat honey, for it is good;
The droppings of the honeycomb, which are sweet to your taste:
14 So you shall know wisdom to be to your soul;
If you have found it, then will there be a reward,
Your hope will not be cut off.
15 Don't lay in wait, wicked man, against the habitation of the righteous.
Don't destroy his resting-place:
16 For a righteous man falls seven times, and rises up again;
But the wicked are overthrown by calamity.
17 Don't rejoice when your enemy falls.
Don't let your heart be glad when he is overthrown;
18 Lest the LORD see it, and it displease him,
And he turn away his wrath from him.
19 Don't fret yourself because of evildoers;
Neither be envious of the wicked:
20 For there will be no reward to the evil man;
And the lamp of the wicked shall be snuffed out.
21 My son, fear the LORD and the king.
Don't join those who are rebellious:
22 For their calamity will rise suddenly;
The destruction from them both -- who knows?
23 These also are sayings of the wise.
To show partiality in judgment is not good.
24 He who says to the wicked, "You are righteous;"
Peoples shall curse him, and nations shall abhor him --
25 But it will go well with those who convict the guilty,
And a rich blessing will come on them.
26 An honest answer Is like a kiss on the lips.
27 Prepare your work outside.
Make it ready for you in the field.
Afterwards, build your house.
28 Don't be a witness against your neighbor without cause.
Don't deceive with your lips.
29 Don't say, "I will do to him as he has done to me;
I will render to the man according to his work."
30 I went by the field of the sluggard,
By the vineyard of the man void of understanding;
31 Behold, it was all grown over with thorns.
Its surface was covered with nettles,
And its stone wall was broken down.
32 Then I saw, and considered well.
I saw, and received instruction:
33 A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to sleep;
34 So shall your poverty come as a robber,
And your want as an armed man.
OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 22:21 - 22:30
22:21 Bil`am rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Mo'av. 22 God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the LORD placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned aside out of the way, and went into the field: and Bil`am struck the donkey, to turn her into the way. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, a wall being on this side, and a wall on that side. 25 The donkey saw the angel of the LORD, and she thrust herself to the wall, and crushed Bil`am's foot against the wall: and he struck her again. 26 The angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 The donkey saw the angel of the LORD, and she lay down under Bil`am: and Bil`am's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 The LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Bil`am, What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times? 29 Bil`am said to the donkey, Because you have mocked me, I would there were a sword in my hand, for now I had killed you. 30 The donkey said to Bil`am, Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? was I ever wont to do so to you? and he said, No. 31 Then the LORD opened the eyes of Bil`am, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, with his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed his head, and fell on his face. 32 The angel of the LORD said to him, Why have you struck your donkey these three times? behold, I am come forth for an adversary, because your way is perverse before me: 33 and the donkey saw me, and turned aside before me these three times: unless she had turned aside from me, surely now I had even slain you, and saved her alive. 34 Bil`am said to the angel of the LORD, I have sinned; for I didn't know that you stood in the way against me: now therefore, if it displease you, I will get me back again. 35 The angel of the LORD said to Bil`am, Go with the men; but only the word that I shall speak to you, that you shall speak. So Bil`am went with the princes of Balak. 36 When Balak heard that Bil`am was come, he went out to meet him to the City of Mo'av, which is on the border of the Arnon, which is in the utmost part of the border. 37 Balak said to Bil`am, Didn't I earnestly send to you to call you? why didn't you come to me? am I not able indeed to promote you to honor? 38 Bil`am said to Balak, Behold, I have come to you: have I now any power at all to speak anything? the word that God puts in my mouth, that shall I speak. 39 Bil`am went with Balak, and they came to Kiryat-Hutzot. 40 Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent to Bil`am, and to the princes who were with him. 41 It happened in the morning, that Balak took Bil`am, and brought him up into the high places of Ba`al; and he saw from there the utmost part of the people.
23:1 Bil`am said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bulls and seven rams. 2 Balak did as Bil`am had spoken; and Balak and Bil`am offered on every altar a bull and a ram. 3 Bil`am said to Balak, Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go: perhaps the LORD will come to meet me; and whatever he shows me I will tell you. He went to a bare height. 4 God met Bil`am: and he said to him, I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered up a bull and a ram on every altar 5 The LORD put a word in Bil`am's mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak. 6 He returned to him, and, behold, he was standing by his burnt- offering, he, and all the princes of Mo'av. 7 He took up his parable, and said, From Aram has Balak brought me, The king of Mo'av from the mountains of the East: Come, curse me Ya`akov, Come, defy Yisra'el. 8 How shall I curse, whom God has not cursed? How shall I defy, whom the LORD has not defied? 9 For from the top of the rocks I see him, From the hills I see him: behold, it is a people that dwells alone, And shall not be reckoned among the nations. 10 Who can count the dust of Ya`akov, Or number the fourth part of Yisra'el? Let me die the death of the righteous, Let my last end be like his! 11 Balak said to Bil`am, What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and, behold, you have blessed them altogether. 12 He answered and said, Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD puts in my mouth? 13 Balak said to him, Please come with me to another place, from whence you may see them; you shall see but the utmost part of them, and shall not see them all: and curse me them from there. 14 He took him into the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar 15 He said to Balak, Stand here by your burnt offering, while I meet [the LORD] yonder. 16 The LORD met Bil`am, and put a word in his mouth, and said, Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak. 17 He came to him, and, behold, he was standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Mo'av with him. Balak said to him, What has the LORD spoken? 18 He took up his parable, and said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; Listen to me, you son of Tzippor: 19 God is not a man, that he should lie, Neither the son of man, that he should repent: Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it good 20 Behold, I have received [mitzvah] to bless: He has blessed, and I can't reverse it. 21 He has not saw iniquity in Ya`akov; Neither has he seen perverseness in Yisra'el: The LORD his God is with him, The shout of a king is among them 22 God brings them forth out of Mitzrayim; He has as it were the strength of the wild-ox. 23 Surely there is no enchantment with Ya`akov; Neither is there any divination with Yisra'el: Now shall it be said of Ya`akov and of Yisra'el, What has God done! 24 Behold, the people rises up as a lioness, As a lion does he lift himself up: He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, Drink the blood of the slain. 25 Balak said to Bil`am, Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all. 26 But Bil`am answered Balak, Didn't I tell you, saying, All that the LORD speaks, that I must do? 27 Balak said to Bil`am, Come now, I will take you to another place; peradventure it will please God that you may curse me them from there. 28 Balak took Bil`am to the top of Pe`or, that looks down on the desert. 29 Bil`am said to Balak, Build me here seven altars, and prepare me here seven bulls and seven rams. 30 Balak did as Bil`am had said, and offered up a bull and a ram on every altar.
NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 1:57 - 80
1:57 Now the time that Elisheva should give birth was fulfilled, and she brought forth a son.
58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy towards her, and they rejoiced with her.
59 It happened on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zekharyah, after the name of the father.
60 His mother answered, "Not so; but he will be called Yochanan."
61 They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name."
62 They made signs to his father, what he would have him called.
63 He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, "His name is Yochanan." They all marveled.
64 His mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God.
65 Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Yehudah.
66 All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, "What then will this child be?" The hand of the Lord was with him.
67 His father, Zekharyah, was filled with the Ruach HaKodesh, and prophesied, saying,
68 "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Yisra'el, For he has visited and worked redemption for his people;
69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
70 (As he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old),
71 Salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all who hate us;
72 To show mercy towards our fathers, To remember his holy covenant,
73 The oath which he spoke to Avraham, our father,
74 To grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life.
76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of Ha`Elyon, For you will go before the face of the Lord to make ready his ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Because of the tender mercy of our God, Whereby the dawn from on high will visit us,
79 To shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; To guide our feet into the way of shalom."
80 The child grew, and grew strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Yisra'el.
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