Psalm 119:81-88

Kaph

⁸¹My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.

⁸²My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
I say, "When will you comfort me?"

⁸³Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your decrees.

⁸⁴How long must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?

⁸⁵The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
contrary to your law.

⁸⁶All your commands are trustworthy;
help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.

⁸⁷They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸In your unfailing love preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

---

Ezekiel 2:8-3:11

⁸But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you." ⁹Then I looked, and I saw a hand stretched out to me. In it was a scroll, ¹⁰which he unrolled before me. On both sides of it were written words of lament and mourning and woe.

¹And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel." ²So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. ³Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. ⁴He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. ⁵You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel- ⁶not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. ⁷But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. ⁸But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. ⁹I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people." ¹⁰And he said to me, "Son of man, listen carefully and take to heart all the words I speak to you. ¹¹Go now to your people in exile and speak to them. Say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says,' whether they listen or fail to listen."

---

2 Corinthians 11:16-33

Paul Boasts About His Sufferings

¹⁶I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. ¹⁷In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. ¹⁸Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. ¹⁹You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!

²⁰In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. ²¹To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Whatever anyone else dares to boast about-I am speaking as a fool-I also dare to boast about. ²²Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they Abraham's descendants? So am I.

²³Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. ²⁴Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. ²⁵Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, ²⁶I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. ²⁷I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

²⁸Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. ²⁹Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? ³⁰If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. ³¹The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying. ³²In Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes guarded in order to arrest me. ³³But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands.

Psalm 119:81-88

Kaph

⁸¹My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.

⁸²My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
I say, "When will you comfort me?"

⁸³Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your decrees.

⁸⁴How long must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?

⁸⁵The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
contrary to your law.

⁸⁶All your commands are trustworthy;
help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.

⁸⁷They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸In your unfailing love preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

---

Jeremiah 16:1-13

Day of Disaster

¹Then the word of the Lord came to me: ²"You must not marry and have sons or daughters in this place." ³For this is what the Lord says about the sons and daughters born in this land and about the women who are their mothers and the men who are their fathers:

⁴"They will die of deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried but will be like dung lying on the ground. They will perish by sword and famine, and their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals." ⁵For this is what the Lord says: "Do not enter a house where there is a funeral meal; do not go to mourn or show sympathy, because I have withdrawn my blessing, my love and my pity from this people," declares the Lord.

⁶"Both high and low will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned, and no one will cut themselves or shave their head for the dead. ⁷No one will offer food to comfort those who mourn for the dead-not even for a father or a mother-nor will anyone give them a drink to console them. ⁸"And do not enter a house where there is feasting and sit down to eat and drink. ⁹For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Before your eyes and in your days I will bring an end to the sounds of joy and gladness and to the voices of bride and bridegroom in this place. ¹⁰"When you tell these people all this and they ask you, 'Why has the Lord decreed such a great disaster against us? What wrong have we done? What sin have we committed against the Lord our God?'

¹¹then say to them, 'It is because your ancestors forsook me,' declares the Lord, 'and followed other gods and served and worshiped them. They forsook me and did not keep my law. ¹²But you have behaved more wickedly than your ancestors. See how all of you are following the stubbornness of your evil hearts instead of obeying me. ¹³So I will throw you out of this land into a land neither you nor your ancestors have known, and there you will serve other gods day and night, for I will show you no favor.'

---

James 5:7-12

Patience in Suffering

⁷Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. ⁸You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is near. ⁹Don't grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!

¹⁰Brothers and sisters, as an example of patience in the face of suffering, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. ¹¹As you know, we count as blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job's perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy. ¹²Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear-not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple "Yes" or "No." Otherwise you will be condemned.

Psalm 119:81-88

Kaph

⁸¹My soul faints with longing for your salvation,
but I have put my hope in your word.

⁸²My eyes fail, looking for your promise;
I say, "When will you comfort me?"

⁸³Though I am like a wineskin in the smoke,
I do not forget your decrees.

⁸⁴How long must your servant wait?
When will you punish my persecutors?

⁸⁵The arrogant dig pits to trap me,
contrary to your law.

⁸⁶All your commands are trustworthy;
help me, for I am being persecuted without cause.

⁸⁷They almost wiped me from the earth,
but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸In your unfailing love preserve my life,
that I may obey the statutes of your mouth.

---

Jeremiah 16:14-21

¹⁴"However, the days are coming," declares the Lord, "when it will no longer be said, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,' ¹⁵but it will be said, 'As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.' For I will restore them to the land I gave their ancestors. ¹⁶"But now I will send for many fishermen," declares the Lord, "and they will catch them. After that I will send for many hunters, and they will hunt them down on every mountain and hill and from the crevices of the rocks. ¹⁷My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from me, nor is their sin concealed from my eyes.

¹⁸I will repay them double for their wickedness and their sin, because they have defiled my land with the lifeless forms of their vile images and have filled my inheritance with their detestable idols."

¹⁹Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress, to you the nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Our ancestors possessed nothing but false gods, worthless idols that did them no good. ²⁰Do people make their own gods? Yes, but they are not gods!" ²¹"Therefore I will teach them-this time I will teach them my power and might. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.

---

John 7:1-9

Jesus Goes to the Festival of Tabernacles

¹After this, Jesus went around in Galilee. He did not want to go about in Judea because the Jewish leaders there were looking for a way to kill him. ²But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near, ³Jesus' brothers said to him, "Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. ⁴No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." ⁵For even his own brothers did not believe in him.

⁶Therefore Jesus told them, "My time is not yet here; for you any time will do. ⁷The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that its works are evil. ⁸You go to the festival. I am not going up to this festival, because my time has not yet fully come." ⁹After he had said this, he stayed in Galilee.

Psalm 85:8-13

⁸I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants-
but let them not turn to folly.

⁹Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

¹¹Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

¹²The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.

¹³Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

---

Amos 2:6-16

Judgment on Israel

⁶This is what the Lord says:
"For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent.
They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.

⁷They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground
and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name.

⁸They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge.
In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.

⁹"Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them,
though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks.
I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.

¹⁰I brought you up out of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness
to give you the land of the Amorites.

¹¹I also raised up prophets from among your children
and Nazirites from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?" declares the Lord.

¹²"But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

¹³"Now then, I will crush you
as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.

¹⁴The swift will not escape,
the strong will not muster their strength,
and the warrior will not save his life.

¹⁵The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
and the horseman will not save his life.

¹⁶Even the bravest warriors
will flee naked on that day," declares the Lord.

---

Colossians 2:1-5

¹I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. ²My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, ³in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. ⁴I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. ⁵For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is.

Psalm 85:8-13

⁸I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants-
but let them not turn to folly.

⁹Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

¹¹Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

¹²The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.

¹³Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

---

Amos 3:1-12

Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

¹Hear this word the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites-against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:

²"You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins."

³Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?

⁴Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?

⁵Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground if it has not caught anything?

⁶When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?

⁷Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

⁸The lion has roared- who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken- who can but prophesy?

⁹Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses of Egypt:
"Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest within her and the oppression among her people."

¹⁰"They do not know how to do right," declares the Lord,
"who store up in their fortresses what they have plundered and looted."

¹¹Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
"An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses."

¹²This is what the Lord says:
"As a shepherd rescues from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch."

---

Colossians 4:2-18

Further Instructions

²Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. ³And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. ⁴Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. ⁵Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. ⁶Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

Final Greetings
⁷Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. ⁸I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. ⁹He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here.

¹⁰My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) ¹¹Jesus, who is called Justus, also sends greetings. These are the only Jews among my co-workers for the kingdom of God, and they have proved a comfort to me. ¹²Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured. ¹³I vouch for him that he is working hard for you and for those at Laodicea and Hierapolis. ¹⁴Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings. ¹⁵Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the church in her house. ¹⁶After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea. ¹⁷Tell Archippus: "See to it that you complete the ministry you have received in the Lord." ¹⁸I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you.

Psalm 85:8-13

⁸I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants-
but let them not turn to folly.

⁹Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

¹¹Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

¹²The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.

¹³Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

---

Amos 4:6-13

⁶"I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

⁷"I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.

⁸People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

⁹"Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

¹⁰"I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

¹¹"I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me," declares the Lord.

¹²"Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel, and because I will do this to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God."

¹³He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind, and who reveals his thoughts to mankind, who turns dawn to darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth- the Lord God Almighty is his name.

---

Luke 1:57-80

The Birth of John the Baptist

⁵⁷When it was time for Elizabeth to have her baby, she gave birth to a son. ⁵⁸Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown her great mercy, and they shared her joy. ⁵⁹On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰but his mother spoke up and said, "No! He is to be called John." ⁶¹They said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who has that name."

⁶²Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone's astonishment he wrote, "His name is John." ⁶⁴Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, "What then is this child going to be?" For the Lord's hand was with him.

Zechariah's Song
⁶⁷His father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied:

⁶⁸"Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them.

⁶⁹He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David

⁷⁰ (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago),

⁷¹salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us-

⁷²to show mercy to our ancestors and to remember his holy covenant,

⁷³the oath he swore to our father Abraham:

⁷⁴to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear

⁷⁵in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him,

⁷⁷to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,

⁷⁸because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven

⁷⁹to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace."

⁸⁰And the child grew and became strong in spirit; and he lived in the wilderness until he appeared publicly to Israel.

Psalm 85:8-13

⁸I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants-
but let them not turn to folly.

⁹Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.

¹¹Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.

¹²The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.

¹³Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

---

Amos 7:7-15

⁷This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. ⁸And the Lord asked me, "What do you see, Amos?"
"A plumb line," I replied.

Then the Lord said, "Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer. ⁹"The high places of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam."

Amos and Amaziah
¹⁰Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel: "Amos is raising a conspiracy against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words. ¹¹For this is what Amos is saying: "'Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,
away from their native land.'"

¹²Then Amaziah said to Amos, "Get out, you seer! Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there. ¹³Don't prophesy anymore at Bethel,
because this is the king's sanctuary and the temple of the kingdom."

¹⁴Amos answered Amaziah, "I was neither a prophet nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees. ¹⁵But the Lord took me from tending the flock and said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

---

Ephesians 1:3-14

Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. ⁴For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love ⁵he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.

⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace ⁸that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, ⁹he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, ¹⁰to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment-to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

¹¹In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, ¹²in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. ¹³And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession-to the praise of his glory.

---

Mark 6:14-29

John the Baptist Beheaded

¹⁴King Herod heard about this, for Jesus' name had become well known. Some were saying, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him."

¹⁵Others said, "He is Elijah." And still others claimed, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."

¹⁶But when Herod heard this, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!"

¹⁷For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, whom he had married.

¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."

¹⁹So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to, ²⁰because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.

²¹Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, "Ask me for anything you want, and I'll give it to you." ²³And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom." ²⁴She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.

²⁵At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: "I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter." ²⁶The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison, ²⁸and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹On hearing of this, John's disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.