Saturday, September 1, 2029

^61:1The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; ²to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompence; to comfort all that mourn; ³that there should be given to them that mourn in Sion glory instead of ashes, the oil of joy to the mourners, the garment of glory for the spirit of heaviness: and they shall be called generations of righteousness, the planting of the Lord for glory.

⁴And they shall build the old waste places, they shall raise up those that were before made desolate, and shall renew the desert cities, even those that had been desolate for many generations. ⁵And strangers shall come and feed thy flocks, and aliens shall be thy ploughmen and vine-dressers. ⁶But ye shall be called priests of the Lord, the ministers of God: ye shall eat the strength of nations, and shall be admired because of their wealth. ⁷Thus shall they inherit the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their head.

⁸For I am the Lord who love righteousness, and hate robberies of injustice; and I will give their labour to the just, and will make an everlasting covenant with them. ⁹And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: every one that sees them shall take notice of them, that they are a seed blessed of God;

^4:7But though the righteous be prevented with death, yet shall he be in rest. ⁸For honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that is measured by number of years. ⁹But wisdom is the grey hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age. ¹⁰He pleased God, and was beloved of him: so that living among sinners he was translated. ¹¹Yea, speedily was he taken away, lest that wickedness should alter his understanding, or deceit beguile his soul. ¹²For the bewitching of naughtiness doth obscure things that are honest; and the wandering of concupiscence doth undermine the simple mind.

¹³He, being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time: ¹⁴for his soul pleased the Lord: therefore hasted he to take him away from among the wicked. ¹⁵This the people saw, and understood not, neither laid they up this in their minds, That his grace and mercy is with his saints, and that he hath respect unto his chosen.

^4:1So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants and stewards of God’s mysteries. ²Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by a human court. Yes, I don’t even judge my own self. ⁴For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord. ⁵Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.

^2:1I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and givings of thanks be made for all men, ²for kings and all who are in high places, that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and reverence. ³For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴who desires all people to be saved and come to full knowledge of the truth. ⁵For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶who gave himself as a ransom for all, the testimony at the proper time, ⁷to which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle—I am telling the truth in Christ, not lying—a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.

^3:12Put on therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, a heart of compassion, kindness, lowliness, humility, and perseverance; ¹³bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, if any man has a complaint against any; even as Christ forgave you, so you also do. ¹⁴Above all these things, walk in love, which is the bond of perfection. ¹⁵And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body, and be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart to the Lord.

^23:1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, ²saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. ³All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. ⁴For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. ⁵But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the fringes of their garments, ⁶and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men.

⁸But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. ⁹Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. ¹⁰Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. ¹¹But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

^4:16He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, ¹⁸“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed, ¹⁹and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

²⁰He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” ²²All testified about him and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

^11:27All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him. ²⁸“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

^4:1So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants and stewards of God’s mysteries. ²Here, moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. ³But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by a human court. Yes, I don’t even judge my own self. ⁴For I know nothing against myself. Yet I am not justified by this, but he who judges me is the Lord. ⁵Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each man will get his praise from God.

^23:1Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to his disciples, ²saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. ³All things therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do, but don’t do their works; for they say, and don’t do. ⁴For they bind heavy burdens that are grievous to be borne, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not lift a finger to help them. ⁵But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the fringes of their garments, ⁶and love the place of honor at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, ⁷the salutations in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi, Rabbi’ by men.

⁸But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi’, for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. ⁹Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. ¹⁰Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. ¹¹But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. ¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.