25, Psalm 55; 2 Samuel 14:25-15:12; Ezekiel 16; Luke 18:1-30
Psalm 55
1
Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
4 I
2
Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;
2 I
3
Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.
4
My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.
5
Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.
6
And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.
8 I
7
Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
8
I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
2 I
9
Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10
Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.
11
Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
12
For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:
13
But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.
14
We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.
2 I
15
Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
16
As for me, I will call upon God; and the Lord shall save me.
18 I
17
Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
14 I
18
He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.
19
God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.
20
He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.
21
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.
3 I
22
Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.
40 I
23
But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
3 I
2 Samuel 14
25
But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.
26
And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king’s weight.
27
And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.
28
So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king’s face.
29
Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.
30
Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab’s field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.
31
Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?
32
And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king’s face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.
33
So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.
2 Samuel 15
1
And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him.
2
And Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate: and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy servant is of one of the tribes of Israel.
3
And Absalom said unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but there is no man deputed of the king to hear thee.
4
Absalom said moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me, and I would do him justice!
5
And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him, and kissed him.
6
And on this manner did Absalom to all Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel.
7
And it came to pass after forty years, that Absalom said unto the king, I pray thee, let me go and pay my vow, which I have vowed unto the Lord, in Hebron.
8
For thy servant vowed a vow while I abode at Geshur in Syria, saying, If the Lord shall bring me again indeed to Jerusalem, then I will serve the Lord.
9
And the king said unto him, Go in peace. So he arose, and went to Hebron.
10
But Absalom sent spies throughout all the tribes of Israel, saying, As soon as ye hear the sound of the trumpet, then ye shall say, Absalom reigneth in Hebron.
11
And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any thing.
12
And Absalom sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counsellor, from his city, even from Giloh, while he offered sacrifices. And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased continually with Absalom.
Ezekiel 16
1
Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2
Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,
3
And say, Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.
4
And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.
5
None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.
6
And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.
2 I
7
I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.
8
Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.
6 I
9
Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.
10
I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers’ skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.
11
I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.
12
And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.
13
Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.
14
And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.
2 I
15
But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.
16
And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.
17
Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,
18
And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.
19
My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord God.
20
Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,
21
That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?
22
And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.
23
And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the Lord God;)
24
That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
25
Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.
26
Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.
27
Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.
28
Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.
29
Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.
30
How weak is thine heart, saith the Lord God, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;
31
In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;
32
But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!
33
They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.
34
And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.
35
Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the Lord:
36
Thus saith the Lord God; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;
37
Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.
38
And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.
39
And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.
40
They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.
41
And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.
42
So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.
43
Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord God: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.
44
Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.
45
Thou art thy mother’s daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.
46
And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.
47
Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.
48
As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.
49
Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.
50
And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.
51
Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.
52
Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.
53
When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:
54
That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.
55
When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.
56
For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,
57
Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.
58
Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the Lord.
59
For thus saith the Lord God; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
4 I
60
Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
4 I
61
Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.
62
And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:
4 I
63
That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord God.
4 I
Luke 18
1
And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint;
9 I
2
Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3
And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4
And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5
Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6
And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith.
7
And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
7 I
8
I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?
11 I
9
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10
Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11
The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
10 I
14
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
5 I
15
And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
16
But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
4 I
17
Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.
9 I
18
And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
3 I
19
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
8 I
20
Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.
21
And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.
22
Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
5 I
23
And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
24
And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
25
For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
6 I
26
And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?
2 I
27
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
16 I
28
Then Peter said, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee.
29
And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the kingdom of God’s sake,
7 I
30
Who shall not receive manifold more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
7 I