JULY 31
PSALMS: 31, 61, 91, 121
PROVERBS: 31
OLD TESTAMENT: JEREMIAH 35:1 - 36:32
NEW TESTAMENT: 1 TIMOTHY 5:1 - 25
PSALMS: 31
1 In you, LORD, do I take refuge.
Let me never be put to shame:
Deliver me in your righteousness.
2 Bow down your ear to me.
Deliver me speedily.
Be to me a strong rock,
A house of defense to save me.
3 For you are my rock and my fortress,
Therefore for your name's sake lead me and guide me.
4 Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me,
For you are my stronghold.
5 Into your hand I commend my spirit.
You redeem me, LORD, God of truth.
6 I hate those who regard lying vanities,
But I trust in the LORD.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness,
For you have seen my affliction.
You have known my soul in adversities.
8 You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Have mercy on me, LORD, for I am in distress.
My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow,
My years with sighing.
My strength fails because of my iniquity.
My bones are wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries
I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbors,
A fear to my acquaintances.
Those who saw me on the street fled from me.
12 I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man.
I am like broken pottery.
13 For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side,
While they conspire together against me,
They plot to take away my life.
14 But I trust in you, LORD.
I said, You are my God.
15 My times are in your hand.
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
and from those who persecute me.
16 Make your face to shine on your servant.
Save me in your loving kindness.
17 Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
for I have called on you.
Let the wicked be put to shame.
Let them be silent in She'ol.
18 Let the lying lips be mute,
Which speak against the righteous insolently,
with pride and contempt.
19 Oh how great is your goodness,
Which you have laid up for those who fear you,
‘Which you have worked for those who take refuge in you,
Before the sons of men!
20 In the covert of your presence will you hide them from the plotting of man.
You will keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.
21 Praise be to the LORD,
For he has shown me his marvelous loving kindness in a strong city.
22 As for me, I said in my haste,
"I am cut off from before your eyes."
Nevertheless you heard the voice of my petitions when I cried to you.
23 Oh love the LORD, all you his holy ones!
The LORD preserves the faithful,
And pays back him who deals proudly in full.
24 Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
All you who hope in the LORD.
PSALMS: 61
1 Hear my cry, God.
Listen to my prayer.
2 From the end of the eretz,
I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been a refuge for me,
A strong tower from the enemy.
4 I will dwell in your tent forever.
I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah.
5 For you, God, have heard my vows.
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
6 You will prolong the king's life;
His years shall be for generations.
7 He shall be enthroned in God's presence forever.
Appoint your loving kindness and truth,
that they may preserve him.
8 So I will sing praise to your name forever,
That I may fulfill my vows daily.
PSALMS: 91
1 He who dwells in the secret place of Ha`Elyon
Will rest in the shadow of Shaddai.
2 I will say of the LORD,
"He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in whom I trust."
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler,
From the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his pinions.
Under his wings you will take refuge.
His truth is a shield and a buckler.
5 You will not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day;
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes,
And see the reward of the wicked.
9 For you, LORD, are my refuge!
You have made Ha`Elyon your habitation.
10 No evil shall happen to you,
Neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he will give his angels charge over you,
To guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands,
So that you won't dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and cobra.
You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
14 "Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him.
I will set him on high, because he has known my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him.
I will be with him in trouble.
I will deliver him, and honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life,
And show him my yeshu`ah."
PSALMS: 121
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills.
Where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and eretz.
3 He will not allow your foot to be moved.
He who keeps you will not slumber.
4 Behold, he who keeps Yisra'el
Will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The LORD is your keeper.
The LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6 The sun will not harm you by day,
Nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will keep you from all evil.
He will keep your soul.
8 The LORD will keep your going out and your coming in,
From this time forth, and forevermore.
PROVERBS: 31
1 The words of king Lemo'el;
the oracle which his mother taught him.
2 "Oh, my son!" Oh, son of my womb!
Oh, son of my vows!
3 Don't give your strength to women,
Nor your ways to that which destroys kings.
4 It is not for kings, Lemo'el;
it is not for kings to drink wine;
Nor for princes to say, 'Where is strong drink?'
5 Lest they drink, and forget the law,
And pervert the justice due to anyone who is afflicted.
6 Give strong drink to him who is ready to perish;
And wine to the bitter in soul:
7 Let him drink, and forget his poverty,
And remember his misery no more.
8 Open your mouth for the mute,
In the cause of all who are left desolate.
9 Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And serve justice to the poor and needy."
10 Who can find a worthy woman?
For her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her.
He shall have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good, and not harm,
All the days of her life.
13 She seeks wool and flax,
And works eagerly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships.
She brings her bread from afar.
15 She rises also while it is yet night,
Gives food to her household,
And portions for her servant girls.
16 She considers a field, and buys it.
With the fruit of her hands, she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds her loins with strength,
And makes her arms strong.
18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp doesn't go out by night.
19 She lays her hands to the distaff,
And her hands hold the spindle.
20 She opens her arms to the poor;
Yes, she extends her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household;
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes for herself carpets of tapestry.
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected in the gates,
When he sits among the Zakenim of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And delivers sashes to the merchant.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing.
She laughs at the time to come.
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom.
Faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
And doesn't eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed.
Her husband also praises her:
29 "Many women do noble things,
But you excel them all."
30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain;
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands;
Let her works praise her in the gates.
OLD TESTAMENT: JEREMIAH 35:1 - 36:32
35:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 “Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and give them wine to drink.”
3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. 4 I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.” 6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.” 12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’
17 “Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’ ” 18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.’ ”
36:1 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 “Take a scroll and write on it all the words I have spoken to you concerning Israel, Judah and all the other nations from the time I began speaking to you in the reign of Josiah till now. 3 Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.” 4 So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and while Jeremiah dictated all the words the LORD had spoken to him, Baruch wrote them on the scroll. 5 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the LORD’s temple. 6 So you go to the house of the LORD on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the LORD that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns. 7 Perhaps they will bring their petition before the LORD and will each turn from their wicked ways, for the anger and wrath pronounced against this people by the LORD are great.” 8 Baruch son of Neriah did everything Jeremiah the prophet told him to do; at the LORD’s temple he read the words of the LORD from the scroll. 9 In the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, a time of fasting before the LORD was proclaimed for all the people in Jerusalem and those who had come from the towns of Judah. 10 From the room of Gemariah son of Shaphan the secretary, which was in the upper courtyard at the entrance of the New Gate of the temple, Baruch read to all the people at the LORD’s temple the words of Jeremiah from the scroll. 11 When Micaiah son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, heard all the words of the LORD from the scroll, 12 he went down to the secretary’s room in the royal palace, where all the officials were sitting: Elishama the secretary, Delaiah son of Shemaiah, Elnathan son of Akbor, Gemariah son of Shaphan, Zedekiah son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. 13 After Micaiah told them everything he had heard Baruch read to the people from the scroll, 14 all the officials sent Jehudi son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to say to Baruch, “Bring the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch son of Neriah went to them with the scroll in his hand.
15 They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. 16 When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, “We must report all these words to the king.” 17 Then they asked Baruch, “Tell us, how did you come to write all this? Did Jeremiah dictate it?” 18 “Yes,” Baruch replied, “he dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them in ink on the scroll.”19 Then the officials said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.” 20 After they put the scroll in the room of Elishama the secretary, they went to the king in the courtyard and reported everything to him. 21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them. 27 After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 28 “Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. 29 Also tell Jehoiakim king of Judah, ‘This is what the LORD says: You burned that scroll and said, “Why did you write on it that the king of Babylon would certainly come and destroy this land and wipe from it both man and beast?” 30 Therefore this is what the LORD says about Jehoiakim king of Judah: He will have no one to sit on the throne of David; his body will be thrown out and exposed to the heat by day and the frost by night. 31 I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.’ ” 32 So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.
NEW TESTAMENT: 1 TIMOTHY 5:1 - 25
Widows, Elders and Slaves
1 Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers,
2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.
3 Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need.
4 But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God.
5 The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help.
6 But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives.
7 Give the people these instructions, so that no one may be open to blame.
8 Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
9 No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband,
10 and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds.
11 As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry.
12 Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge.
13 Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also busybodies who talk nonsense, saying things they ought not to.
14 So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander.
15 Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.
16 If any woman who is a believer has widows in her care, she should continue to help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need.
17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.
18 For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”
19 Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.
20 But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.
21 I charge you, in the sight of God and Christ Jesus and the elect angels, to keep these instructions without partiality, and to do nothing out of favoritism.
22 Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
23 Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine because of your stomach and your frequent illnesses.
24 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.
25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not obvious cannot remain hidden forever.
