JULY 23
PSALMS: 23, 53, 83, 113, 143
PROVERBS: 23
OLD TESTAMENT: JEREMIAH 19:1 - 21:14
NEW TESTAMENT: 1 THESSALONIANS 5:4 - 28
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: JEREMIAH 19:1 - 21:14
19:1 This is what the LORD says: “Go and buy a clay jar from a potter. Take along some of the elders of the people and of the priests 2 and go out to the Valley of Ben Hinnom, near the entrance of the Potsherd Gate. There proclaim the words I tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah and people of Jerusalem. This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Listen! I am going to bring a disaster on this place that will make the ears of everyone who hears of it tingle. 4 For they have forsaken me and made this a place of foreign gods; they have burned incense in it to gods that neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah ever knew, and they have filled this place with the blood of the innocent. 5 They have built the high places of Baal to burn their children in the fire as offerings to Baal—something I did not command or mention, nor did it enter my mind. 6 So beware, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when people will no longer call this place Topheth or the Valley of Ben Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter. 7 “ ‘In this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, at the hands of those who want to kill them, and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds and the wild animals. 8 I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds. 9 I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters, and they will eat one another’s flesh because their enemies will press the siege so hard against them to destroy them.’ 10“Then break the jar while those who go with you are watching, 11 and say to them, ‘This is what the LORD Almighty says: I will smash this nation and this city just as this potter’s jar is smashed and cannot be repaired. They will bury the dead in Topheth until there is no more room. 12 This is what I will do to this place and to those who live here, declares the LORD. I will make this city like Topheth. 13 The houses in Jerusalem and those of the kings of Judah will be defiled like this place, Topheth—all the houses where they burned incense on the roofs to all the starry hosts and poured out drink offerings to other gods.’ ” 14 Jeremiah then returned from Topheth, where the LORD had sent him to prophesy, and stood in the court of the LORD’s temple and said to all the people, 15 “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on this city and all the villages around it every disaster I pronounced against them, because they were stiff-necked and would not listen to my words.’ ”
20:1 When the priest Pashhur son of Immer, the official in charge of the temple of the LORD, heard Jeremiah prophesying these things, 2 he had Jeremiah the prophet beaten and put in the stocks at the Upper Gate of Benjamin at the LORD’s temple. 3 The next day, when Pashhur released him from the stocks, Jeremiah said to him, “The LORD’s name for you is not Pashhur, but Terror on Every Side. 4 For this is what the LORD says: ‘I will make you a terror to yourself and to all your friends; with your own eyes you will see them fall by the sword of their enemies. I will give all Judah into the hands of the king of Babylon, who will carry them away to Babylon or put them to the sword. 5 I will deliver all the wealth of this city into the hands of their enemies—all its products, all its valuables and all the treasures of the kings of Judah. They will take it away as plunder and carry it off to Babylon. 6 And you, Pashhur, and all who live in your house will go into exile to Babylon. There you will die and be buried, you and all your friends to whom you have prophesied lies.’ ” 7 You deceived me, LORD, and I was deceived ; you overpowered me and prevailed. I am ridiculed all day long; everyone mocks me. 8 Whenever I speak, I cry out proclaiming violence and destruction. So the word of the LORD has brought me insult and reproach all day long. 9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot. 10 I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side! Denounce him! Let’s denounce him!” All my friends are waiting for me to slip, saying, “Perhaps he will be deceived; then we will prevail over him and take our revenge on him.” 11 But the LORD is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten. 12 LORD Almighty, you who examine the righteous and probe the heart and mind, let me see your vengeance on them, for to you I have committed my cause. 13 Sing to the LORD! Give praise to the LORD! He rescues the life of the needy from the hands of the wicked. 14 Cursed be the day I was born! May the day my mother bore me not be blessed! 15 Cursed be the man who brought my father the news, who made him very glad, saying, “A child is born to you—a son!” 16 May that man be like the towns the LORD overthrew without pity. May he hear wailing in the morning, a battle cry at noon. 17 For he did not kill me in the womb, with my mother as my grave, her womb enlarged forever. 18 Why did I ever come out of the womb to see trouble and sorrow and to end my days in shame?
21:1 The word came to Jeremiah from the LORD when King Zedekiah sent to him Pashhur son of Malkijah and the priest Zephaniah son of Maaseiah. They said: 2 “Inquire now of the LORD for us because Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is attacking us. Perhaps the LORD will perform wonders for us as in times past so that he will withdraw from us.” 3 But Jeremiah answered them, “Tell Zedekiah, 4 ‘This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: I am about to turn against you the weapons of war that are in your hands, which you are using to fight the king of Babylon and the Babylonians who are outside the wall besieging you. And I will gather them inside this city. 5 I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and a mighty arm in furious anger and in great wrath. 6 I will strike down those who live in this city—both man and beast—and they will die of a terrible plague. 7 After that, declares the LORD, I will give Zedekiah king of Judah, his officials and the people in this city who survive the plague, sword and famine, into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and to their enemies who want to kill them. He will put them to the sword; he will show them no mercy or pity or compassion.’ 8 “Furthermore, tell the people, ‘This is what the LORD says: See, I am setting before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague. But whoever goes out and surrenders to the Babylonians who are besieging you will live; they will escape with their lives. 10 I have determined to do this city harm and not good, declares the LORD. It will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will destroy it with fire.’ 11 “Moreover, say to the royal house of Judah, ‘Hear the word of the LORD. 12 This is what the LORD says to you, house of David: “ ‘Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out and burn like fire because of the evil you have done— burn with no one to quench it. 13 I am against you, Jerusalem, you who live above this valley on the rocky plateau, declares the LORD— you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our refuge?” 14 I will punish you as your deeds deserve, declares the LORD. I will kindle a fire in your forests that will consume everything around you.’ ”
NEW TESTAMENT: 1 THESSALONIANS 5:4 - 28
5:4 But you, brothers and sisters, are not in darkness so that this day should surprise you like a thief.
5 You are all children of the light and children of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness.
6 So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober.
7 For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.
8 But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.
9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
12 Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you.
13 Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.
14 And we urge you, brothers and sisters, warn those who are idle and disruptive, encourage the disheartened, help the weak, be patient with everyone.
15 Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else.
16 Rejoice always,
17 pray continually,
18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt
21 but test them all; hold on to what is good,
22 reject every kind of evil.
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.
25 Brothers and sisters, pray for us.
26 Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss.
27 I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.
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