Thursday, July 28, 2033

^7:24Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God. ²⁵Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy. ²⁶Therefore I think that because of the distress that is on us, it’s good for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Don’t seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Don’t seek a wife. ²⁸But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you.

²⁹But I say this, brothers: the time is short. From now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none; ³⁰and those who weep, as though they didn’t weep; and those who rejoice, as though they didn’t rejoice; and those who buy, as though they didn’t possess; ³¹and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away. ³²But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; ³³but he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.

³⁴There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. ³⁵This I say for your own benefit, not that I may ensnare you, but for that which is appropriate, and that you may attend to the Lord without distraction.

^15:12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand? ¹⁷Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body?

¹⁸But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. ²⁰These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.” ²¹Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

^8:22And Solomon stood up in front of the altar before all the congregation of Israel; and he spread out his hands toward heaven: ²³and he said, Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in heaven above and on the earth beneath, keeping covenant and mercy with thy servant who walks before thee with all his heart; ²⁷But will God indeed dwell with men upon the earth? if the heaven and heaven of heavens will not suffice thee, how much less even this house which I have built to thy name?

²⁸Yet, O Lord God of Israel, thou shalt look upon my petition, to hear the prayer which thy servant prays to thee in thy presence this day, ²⁹that thine eyes may be open toward this house day and night, even toward the place of which thou saidst, My name shall be there, to hear the prayer which thy servant prays at this place day and night. ³⁰And thou shalt hearken to the prayer of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall pray toward this place; and thou shalt hear in thy dwelling-place in heaven, and thou shalt do and be gracious.

^61:10and they shall greatly rejoice in the Lord. Let my soul rejoice in the Lord; for he has clothed me with the robe of salvation, and the garment of joy: he has put a mitre on me as on a bridegroom, and adorned me with ornaments as a bride. ¹¹And as the earth putting forth her flowers, and as a garden its seed; so shall the Lord, even the Lord, cause righteousness to spring forth, and exultation before all nations. ^62:1For Sion's sake I will not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until her righteousness go forth as light, and my salvation burn as a torch.

²And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and kings thy glory: and one shall call thee by a new name, which the Lord shall name. ³And thou shalt be a crown of beauty in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of thy God. ⁴And thou shalt no more be called Forsaken; and thy land shall no more be called Desert: for thou shalt be called My Pleasure, and thy land Inhabited: for the Lord has taken pleasure in thee, and thy land shall be inhabited.

⁵And as a young man lives with a virgin, so shall thy sons dwell in thee: and it shall come to pass that as a bridegroom will rejoice over a bride, so will the Lord rejoice over thee.

^60:1Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. ²Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and there shall be gross darkness on the nations: but the Lord shall appear upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. ³And kings shall walk in thy light, and nations in thy brightness. ⁴Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold thy children gathered: all thy sons have come from far, and thy daughters shall be borne on men's shoulders.

⁵Then shalt thou see, and fear, and be amazed in thine heart; for the wealth of the sea shall come round to thee, and of nations and peoples; and herds of camels shall come to thee, ⁶and the camels of Madiam and Gæpha shall cover thee: all from Saba shall come bearing gold, and shall bring frankincense, and they shall publish the salvation of the Lord. ⁷And all the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered, and the rams of Nabæoth shall come; and acceptable sacrifices shall be offered on my altar, and my house of prayer shall be glorified.

⁸Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves with young ones to me? ⁹The isles have waited for me, and the ships of Tharsis among the first, to bring thy children from afar, and their silver and their gold with them, and that for the sake of the holy name of the Lord, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified. ¹⁰And strangers shall build thy walls, and their kings shall wait upon thee: for by reason of my wrath I smote thee, and by reason of mercy I loved thee.

¹¹And thy gates shall be opened continually; they shall not be shut day nor night; to bring in to thee the power of the Gentiles, and their kings as captives. ¹²For the nations and the kings which will not serve thee shall perish; and those nations shall be made utterly desolate. ¹³And the glory of Libanus shall come to thee, with the cypress, and pine, and cedar together, to glorify my holy place. ¹⁴And the sons of them that afflicted thee, and of them that provoked thee, shall come to thee in fear; and thou shalt be called Sion, the city of the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁵Because thou hast become desolate and hated, and there was no helper, therefore I will make thee a perpetual gladness, a joy of many generations. ¹⁶And thou shalt suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt eat the wealth of kings: and shalt know that I am the Lord that saves thee and delivers thee, the Holy One of Israel.

^10:9I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture. ¹⁰The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly. ¹¹“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹²He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn’t own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.

¹³The hired hand flees because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care for the sheep. ¹⁴I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and I’m known by my own; ¹⁵even as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.

^7:24Brothers, let each man, in whatever condition he was called, stay in that condition with God. ²⁵Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be trustworthy. ²⁶Therefore I think that because of the distress that is on us, it’s good for a man to remain as he is. ²⁷Are you bound to a wife? Don’t seek to be freed. Are you free from a wife? Don’t seek a wife. ²⁸But if you marry, you have not sinned. If a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Yet such will have oppression in the flesh, and I want to spare you.

²⁹But I say this, brothers: the time is short. From now on, both those who have wives may be as though they had none; ³⁰and those who weep, as though they didn’t weep; and those who rejoice, as though they didn’t rejoice; and those who buy, as though they didn’t possess; ³¹and those who use the world, as not using it to the fullest. For the mode of this world passes away. ³²But I desire to have you to be free from cares. He who is unmarried is concerned for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord; ³³but he who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife.

³⁴There is also a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares about the things of the world—how she may please her husband. ³⁵This I say for your own benefit, not that I may ensnare you, but for that which is appropriate, and that you may attend to the Lord without distraction.

^1:11But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man. ¹²For I didn’t receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹³For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God and ravaged it. ¹⁴I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

¹⁵But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace, ¹⁶to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood, ¹⁷nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus. ¹⁸Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹But of the other apostles I saw no one except James, the Lord’s brother.

^15:12Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand? ¹⁷Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body?

¹⁸But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. ²⁰These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.” ²¹Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.

^10:1“Most certainly, I tell you, one who doesn’t enter by the door into the sheep fold, but climbs up some other way, is a thief and a robber. ²But one who enters in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. ³The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. ⁴Whenever he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. ⁵They will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him; for they don’t know the voice of strangers.”

⁶Jesus spoke this parable to them, but they didn’t understand what he was telling them. ⁷Jesus therefore said to them again, “Most certainly, I tell you, I am the sheep’s door. ⁸All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep didn’t listen to them. ⁹I am the door. If anyone enters in by me, he will be saved, and will go in and go out and will find pasture.