Thursday, December 4, 2025

^3:1This is a faithful saying: someone who seeks to be an overseer desires a good work. ²The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; ³not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; ⁴one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; ⁵(for how could someone who doesn’t know how to rule his own house take care of God’s assembly?) ⁶not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. ⁷Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil. ⁸Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money, ⁹holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. ¹⁰Let them also first be tested; then let them serve if they are blameless. ¹¹Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, and faithful in all things. ¹²Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. ¹³For those who have served well gain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

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^13:7Remember your leaders, men who spoke to you the word of God, and considering the results of their conduct, imitate their faith. ⁸Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. ⁹Don’t be carried away by various and strange teachings, for it is good that the heart be established by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited. ¹⁰We have an altar from which those who serve the holy tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside of the camp. ¹²Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people through his own blood, suffered outside of the gate. ¹³Let’s therefore go out to him outside of the camp, bearing his reproach. ¹⁴For we don’t have here an enduring city, but we seek that which is to come. ¹⁵Through him, then, let’s offer up a sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of lips which proclaim allegiance to his name. ¹⁶But don’t forget to be doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

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^20:9He began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time. ¹⁰At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him and sent him away empty. ¹¹He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty. ¹²He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him and threw him out. ¹³The lord of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.’ ¹⁴“But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.’ ¹⁵Then they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them? ¹⁶He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others.” When they heard that, they said, “May that never be!” ¹⁷But he looked at them and said, “Then what is this that is written, ‘The stone which the builders rejected was made the chief cornerstone’? ¹⁸Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust.”

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^12:32“Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. ³³Sell what you have and give gifts to the needy. Make for yourselves purses which don’t grow old, a treasure in the heavens that doesn’t fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. ³⁴For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. ³⁵“Let your waist be dressed and your lamps burning. ³⁶Be like men watching for their lord when he returns from the wedding feast, that when he comes and knocks, they may immediately open to him. ³⁷Blessed are those servants whom the lord will find watching when he comes. Most certainly I tell you that he will dress himself, make them recline, and will come and serve them. ³⁸They will be blessed if he comes in the second or third watch and finds them so. ³⁹But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. ⁴⁰Therefore be ready also, for the Son of Man is coming in an hour that you don’t expect him.”

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^43:27And it shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, that the priests shall offer your whole-burnt-offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord. ^44:1Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut. ²And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. ³For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same. ⁴And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

Brenton LXX, public domain

^1:39Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, ⁴⁰and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴²She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ⁴³Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! ⁴⁵Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!” ⁴⁶Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord. ⁴⁷My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. ⁴⁹For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name. ⁵⁶Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house.

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^9:1Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and an earthly sanctuary. ²For a tabernacle was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread, which is called the Holy Place. ³After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, ⁴having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; ⁵and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail. ⁶Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services, ⁷but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people.

WEB, public domain

^3:1This is a faithful saying: someone who seeks to be an overseer desires a good work. ²The overseer therefore must be without reproach, the husband of one wife, temperate, sensible, modest, hospitable, good at teaching; ³not a drinker, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous; ⁴one who rules his own house well, having children in subjection with all reverence; ⁵(for how could someone who doesn’t know how to rule his own house take care of God’s assembly?) ⁶not a new convert, lest being puffed up he fall into the same condemnation as the devil. ⁷Moreover he must have good testimony from those who are outside, to avoid falling into reproach and the snare of the devil. ⁸Servants, in the same way, must be reverent, not double-tongued, not addicted to much wine, not greedy for money, ⁹holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. ¹⁰Let them also first be tested; then let them serve if they are blameless. ¹¹Their wives in the same way must be reverent, not slanderers, temperate, and faithful in all things. ¹²Let servants be husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well. ¹³For those who have served well gain for themselves a good standing and great boldness in the faith which is in Christ Jesus.

WEB, public domain

^10:38As they went on their way, he entered into a certain village, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. ³⁹She had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard his word. ⁴⁰But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she came up to him, and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister left me to serve alone? Ask her therefore to help me.” ⁴¹Jesus answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴²but one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.” ^11:27It came to pass, as he said these things, a certain woman out of the multitude lifted up her voice and said to him, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts which nursed you!” ²⁸But he said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and keep it.”

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^18:31He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that are written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be completed. ³²For he will be delivered up to the Gentiles, will be mocked, treated shamefully, and spit on. ³³They will scourge and kill him. On the third day, he will rise again.” ³⁴They understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they didn’t understand the things that were said.

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