DECEMBER 23
PSALMS: 23, 53, 83, 113, 143
PROVERBS: 23
OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 21:1 - 22:20
NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 1:26 - 56
PSALMS: 23
1 The LORD is my shepherd:
I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed my head with oil.
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell in the LORD's house forever.
PSALMS: 53
1 The fool has said in his heart,
"There is no God."
They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity.
There is no one who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven on the children of men,
To see if there are any who understood, Who seek after God.
3 Every one of them has gone back.
They have become filthy together.
There is no one who does good, no, not one.
4 Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And don't call on God?
5 There they were in great fear, where no fear was,
For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you.
You have put them to shame,
Because God has rejected them.
6 Oh that the yeshu`ah of Yisra'el would come out of Tziyon!
When God brings back the captivity of his people,
Then shall Ya`akov rejoice.
Yisra'el shall be glad.
2 For, behold, your enemies are stirred up.
Those who hate you have lifted up their heads.
3 They conspire with cunning against your people.
They plot against your cherished ones.
4 "Come," they say, "and let us destroy them as a nation,
That the name of Yisra'el may be remembered no more."
5 For they have conspired together with one mind.
They form an alliance against you.
6 The tents of Edom and the Yishme`elim;
Mo'av, and the Hagrim;
7 Geval, `Ammon, and `Amalek;
Peleshet with the inhabitants of Tzor;
8 Ashshur also is joined with them.
They have helped the children of Lot.
Selah.
9 Do to them as you did to Midyan,
As to Sisera, as to Yavin, at the river Kishon;
10 Who perished at `En-Dor,
Who became as dung for the eretz.
11 Make their nobles like `Orev and Ze'ev;
Yes, all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmunnah;
12 Who said, "Let us take possession
Of God's pasturelands."
13 My God, make them like tumbleweed;
Like chaff before the wind.
14 As the fire that burns the forest,
As the flame that sets the mountains on fire,
15 So pursue them with your tempest,
Terrify them with your storm.
16 Fill their faces with confusion,
That they may seek your name, LORD.
17 Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever.
Yes, let them be confounded and perish;
18 That they may know that you alone, whose name is the LORD,
Are Ha`Elyon over all the eretz.
2 Blessed be the name of the LORD,
From this time forth and forevermore.
3 From the rising of the sun to the going down of the same,
The LORD's name is to be praised.
4 The LORD is high above all nations,
His glory above the heavens.
5 Who is like the LORD, our God,
Who has his seat on high,
6 Who stoops down to see in heaven and in the eretz?
7 He raises up the poor out of the dust.
Lifts up the needy from the ash heap;
8 That he may set him with princes,
Even with the princes of his people.
9 He settles the barren woman in her home,
As a joyful mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
PSALMS: 143
Listen to my petitions.
In your faithfulness and righteousness, relieve me.
2 Don't enter into judgment with your servant,
For in your sight no man living is righteous.
3 For the enemy pursues my soul.
He has struck my life down to the ground.
He has made me live in dark places,
as those who have been long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me.
My heart within me is desolate.
5 I remember the days of old.
I meditate on all your doings.
I contemplate the work of your hands.
6 I spread forth my hands to you.
My soul thirsts for you, like a parched land.
Selah.
7 Hurry to answer me, LORD.
My spirit fails.
Don't hide your face from me,
So that I don't become like those who go down into the pit.
8 Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning,
For I trust in you.
Cause me to know the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to you.
9 Deliver me, LORD, from my enemies.
I flee to you to hide me.
10 Teach me to do your will,
For you are my God.
Your Spirit is good.
Lead me in the land of uprightness.
11 Revive me, LORD, for your name's sake.
In your righteousness, bring my soul out of trouble.
12 In your loving kindness, cut off my enemies,
And destroy all those who afflict my soul,
For I am your servant.
2 Put a knife to your throat,
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Don't be desirous of his dainties,
Seeing they are deceitful food.
4 Don't weary yourself to be rich.
In your wisdom, show restraint
5 Why do you set your eyes on that which is not?
For it certainly sprouts wings like an eagle and flies in the sky.
6 Don't eat the food of him who has a stingy eye,
And don't crave his delicacies:
7 For as he thinks about the cost, so he is.
"Eat and drink!" he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8 The morsel which you have eaten you shall vomit up,
And lose your good words.
9 Don't speak in the ears of a fool,
For he will despise the wisdom of your words.
10 Don't move the ancient boundary stone.
Don't encroach on the fields of the fatherless:
11 For their Defender is strong.
He will plead their case against you.
12 Apply your heart to instruction,
And your ears to the words of knowledge.
13 Don't withhold correction from a child.
If you punish him with the rod, he will not die.
14 Punish him with the rod,
And save his soul from She'ol
15 My son, if your heart is wise,
Then my heart will be glad, even mine:
16 Yes, my heart will rejoice,
When your lips speak what is right.
17 Don't let your heart envy sinners;
But rather fear the LORD all the day long.
18 Indeed surely there is a future hope,
And your hope will not be cut off.
19 Listen, my son, and be wise,
And keep your heart on the right path
20 Don't be among ones drinking too much wine,
Or those who gorge themselves on meat:
21 For the drunkard and the glutton shall become poor;
And drowsiness clothes them in rags
22 Listen to your father who gave you life,
And don't despise your mother when she is old.
23 Buy the truth, and don't sell it:
Get wisdom, discipline, and understanding.
24 The father of the righteous has great joy.
Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him.
25 Let your father and your mother be glad!
Let her who bore you rejoice!
26 My son, give me your heart;
And let your eyes keep in my ways.
27 For a prostitute is a deep pit;
And a wayward wife is a narrow well.
28 Yes, she lies in wait like a robber,
And increases the unfaithful among men.
29 Who has woe?
Who has sorrow?
Who has strife?
Who has complaints?
Who has needless bruises?
Who has bloodshot eyes?
30 Those who stay long at the wine;
Those who go to seek out mixed wine.
31 Don't look at the wine when it is red,
When it sparkles in the cup,
When it goes down smoothly:
32 At the last it bites like a snake,
And poisons like a viper.
33 Your eyes will see strange things,
And your mind will imagine confusing things.
34 Yes, you will be as he who lies down in the midst of the sea,
Or as he who lies on top of the rigging:
35 "They hit me, and I was not hurt;
They beat me, and I don't feel it!
When will I wake up?
I can do it again.
I can find another."
OLD TESTAMENT: NUMBERS 21:1 - 22:20
21:1 The Kana`ani, the king of `Arad, who lived in the South, heard tell that Yisra'el came by the way of Atarim; and he fought against Yisra'el, and took some of them captive. 2 Yisra'el vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities. 3 The LORD listened to the voice of Yisra'el, and delivered up the Kana`anim; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and the name of the place was called Hormah. 4 They journeyed from Mount Hor by the way to the Sea of Suf, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5 The people spoke against God, and against Moshe, Why have you brought us up out of Mitzrayim to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loathes this light bread. 6 The LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Yisra'el died. 7 The people came to Moshe, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against the LORD, and against you; pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. Moshe prayed for the people. 8 The LORD said to Moshe, Make you a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard: and it shall happen, that everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live. 9 Moshe made a serpent of brass, and set it on the standard: and it happened, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the serpent of brass, he lived. 10 The children of Yisra'el journeyed, and encamped in Ovot. 11 They journeyed from Ovot, and encamped at `Iye-Avarim, in the wilderness which is before Mo'av, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they journeyed, and encamped in the valley of Zered. 13 From there they journeyed, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that comes out of the border of the Amori: for the Arnon is the border of Mo'av, between Mo'av and the Amori. 14 Therefore it is said in the book of the Wars of the LORD, Vahev in Sufah, The valleys of the Arnon, 15 The slope of the valleys That inclines toward the dwelling of `Ar, Leans on the border of Mo'av. 16 From there [they journeyed] to Be'er: that is the well whereof the LORD said to Moshe, Gather the people together, and I will give them water. 17 Then sang Yisra'el this song: Spring up, well; sing you to it: 18 The well, which the princes dug, Which the nobles of the people dug, With the scepter, [and] with their poles. From the wilderness [they journeyed] to Mattanah; 19 and from Mattanah to Nachali'el; and from Nachali'el to Bamot; 20 and from Bamot to the valley that is in the field of Mo'av, to the top of Pisgah, which looks down on the desert. 21 Yisra'el sent messengers to Sichon king of the Amori, saying, 22 Let me pass through your land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed your border. 23 Sichon would not allow Yisra'el to pass through his border: but Sichon gathered all his people together, and went out against Yisra'el into the wilderness, and came to Yahatz; and he fought against Yisra'el. 24 Yisra'el struck him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Yabbok, even to the children of `Ammon; for the border of the children of `Ammon was strong. 25 Yisra'el took all these cities: and Yisra'el lived in all the cities of the Amori, in Heshbon, and in all the towns of it. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sichon the king of the Amori, who had fought against the former king of Mo'av, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say, Come you to Heshbon; Let the city of Sichon be built and established: 28 For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sichon: It has devoured `Ar of Mo'av, The lords of the high places of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, Mo'av! You are undone, people of Kemosh: He has given his sons as fugitives, His daughters into captivity, To Sichon king of the Amori. 30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even to Divon, We have laid waste even to Nofach, Which [reaches] to Medeva. 31 Thus Yisra'el lived in the land of the Amori. 32 Moshe sent to spy out Ya`zer; and they took the towns of it, and drove out the Amori who were there. 33 They turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and `Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edre`i. 34 The LORD said to Moshe, Don't fear him: for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sichon king of the Amori, who lived at Heshbon. 35 So they struck him, and his sons and all his people, until there was none left him remaining: and they possessed his land.
22:1 The children of Yisra'el journeyed, and encamped in the plains of Mo'av beyond the Yarden at Yericho. 2 Balak the son of Tzippor saw all that Yisra'el had done to the Amori. 3 Mo'av was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Mo'av was distressed because of the children of Yisra'el. 4 Mo'av said to the Zakenim of Midyan, Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field. Balak the son of Tzippor was king of Mo'av at that time. 5 He sent messengers to Bil`am the son of Be'or, to Petor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Mitzrayim: behold, they cover the surface of the eretz, and they abide over against me. 6 Please come now therefore curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me: peradventure I shall prevail, that we may strike them, and that I may drive them out of the land; for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.7 The Zakenim of Mo'av and the Zakenim of Midyan departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came to Bil`am, and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 He said to them, Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as the LORD shall speak to me: and the princes of Mo'av abode with Bil`am. 9 God came to Bil`am, and said, What men are these with you? 10 Bil`am said to God, Balak the son of Tzippor, king of Mo'av, has sent to me, [saying], 11 Behold, the people that is come out of Mitzrayim, it covers the surface of the eretz: now, come curse me them; peradventure I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out. 12 God said to Bil`am, You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people; for they are blessed. 13 Bil`am rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, Get you into your land; for the LORD refuses to give me leave to go with you. 14 The princes of Mo'av rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, Bil`am refuses to come with us. 15 Balak sent yet again princes, more, and more honorable than they. 16 They came to Bil`am, and said to him, Thus says Balak the son of Tzippor, Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me: 17 for I will promote you to very great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Please come therefore, and curse this people for me. 18 Bil`am answered the servants of Balak, If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I can't go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please wait also here this night, that I may know what the LORD will speak to me more. 20 God came to Bil`am at night, and said to him, If the men are come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that shall you do.
NEW TESTAMENT: LUKE 1:26 - 56
1:26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gavri'el was sent from God to a city of the Galil, named Natzeret,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Yosef, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Miryam.
28 Having come in to her, the angel said, "Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!"
29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be.
30 The angel said to her, "Don't be afraid, Miryam, for you have found favor with God.
31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and will call his name 'Yeshua.'
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of Ha`Elyon. The Lord God will give to him the throne of his father, David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Ya`akov forever. There will be no end of his kingdom."
34 Miryam said to the angel, "How will this be, seeing I am a virgin?"
35 The angel answered her, "The Ruach HaKodesh will come on you, and the power of Ha`Elyon will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God.
36 Behold, Elisheva, your relative, also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 For no word from God will be void of power."
38 Miryam said, "Behold, the handmaid of the Lord; be it to me according to your word." The angel departed from her.
39 Miryam arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Yehudah,
40 and entered into the house of Zekharyah and greeted Elisheva.
41 It happened, when Elisheva heard Miryam's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elisheva was filled with the Ruach HaKodesh.
42 She called out with a loud voice, and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy!
45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!"
46 Miryam said, "My soul magnifies the Lord.
47 My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,
48 For he has looked at the humble state of his handmaid. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed.
49 For he who is mighty has done to me great things. Holy is his name.
50 His mercy is for generations of generations on those who fear him.
51 He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their heart.
52 He has put down princes from their thrones. And has exalted the lowly.
53 He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty.
54 He has given help to Yisra'el, his servant, that he might remember mercy,
55 As he spoke to our fathers, Toward Avraham and his seed forever."
56 Miryam stayed with her about three months, and returned to her house.
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