Monday, January 1, 2035

^8:22The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works. ²³He established me before time was in the beginning, before he made the earth: ²⁴even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth: ²⁵before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me. ²⁶The Lord made countries and uninhabited tracts, and the highest inhabited parts of the world. ²⁷When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he prepared his throne upon the winds: ²⁸and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth: ²⁹and when he strengthened the foundations of the earth: ³⁰I was by him, suiting myself to him, I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced in his presence continually.

^10:31The mouth of the righteous drops wisdom: but the tongue of the unjust shall perish. ³²The lips of just men drop grace: but the mouth of the ungodly is perverse. ^11:1False balances are an abomination before the Lord: but a just weight is acceptable unto him. ²Wherever pride enters, there will be also disgrace: but the mouth of the lowly meditates wisdom. ³When a just man dies he leaves regret: but the destruction of the ungodly is speedy, and causes joy. ⁵Righteousness traces out blameless paths: but ungodliness encounters unjust dealing.

⁶The righteousness of upright men delivers them: but transgressors are caught in their own destruction. ⁷At the death of a just man his hope does not perish: but the boast of the ungodly perishes. ⁸A righteous man escapes from a snare, and the ungodly man is delivered up in his place. ⁹In the mouth of ungodly men is a snare to citizens: but the understanding of righteous men is prosperous. ¹⁰In the prosperity of righteous men a city prospers: ¹¹but by the mouths of ungodly men it is overthrown. ¹²A man void of understanding sneers at his fellow citizens: but a sensible man is quiet.

^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.

^4:5But you be sober in all things, suffer hardship, do the work of an evangelist, and fulfill your ministry. ⁶For I am already being offered, and the time of my departure has come. ⁷I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. ⁸From now on, the crown of righteousness is stored up for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day; and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved his appearing.

^2:8Be careful that you don’t let anyone rob you through his philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elemental spirits of the world, and not after Christ. ⁹For in him all the fullness of the Deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰and in him you are made full, who is the head of all principality and power. ¹¹In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not made with hands, in the putting off of the body of the sins of the flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, ¹²having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

^7:26For such a high priest was fitting for us: holy, guiltless, undefiled, separated from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; ²⁷who doesn’t need, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices daily, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. For he did this once for all, when he offered up himself. ²⁸For the law appoints men as high priests who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints a Son forever who has been perfected. ^8:1Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this: we have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, ²a servant of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, not man.

^1:1The beginning of the Good News of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. ²As it is written in the prophets, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you: ³the voice of one crying in the wilderness, ‘Make ready the way of the Lord! Make his paths straight!’” ⁴John came baptizing in the wilderness and preaching the baptism of repentance for forgiveness of sins. ⁵All the country of Judea and all those of Jerusalem went out to him. They were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

⁶John was clothed with camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist. He ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷He preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and loosen. ⁸I baptized you in water, but he will baptize you in the Holy Spirit.”

^2:20The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them. ²¹When eight days were fulfilled for the circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. ⁴⁰The child was growing, and was becoming strong in spirit, being filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him. ⁴¹His parents went every year to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover. ⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast; ⁴³and when they had fulfilled the days, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. Joseph and his mother didn’t know it,

⁴⁴but supposing him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey; and they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances. ⁴⁵When they didn’t find him, they returned to Jerusalem, looking for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple, sitting in the middle of the teachers, both listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸When they saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I were anxiously looking for you.”

⁴⁹He said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Didn’t you know that I must be in my Father’s house?” ⁵⁰They didn’t understand the saying which he spoke to them. ⁵¹And he went down with them and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

^6:17He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases, ¹⁸as well as those who were troubled by unclean spirits; and they were being healed. ¹⁹All the multitude sought to touch him, for power came out of him and healed them all. ²⁰He lifted up his eyes to his disciples, and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for God’s Kingdom is yours.

²¹Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ²²Blessed are you when men hate you, and when they exclude and mock you, and throw out your name as evil, for the Son of Man’s sake. ²³Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven, for their fathers did the same thing to the prophets.

^2:14What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? ¹⁵And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, ¹⁶and one of you tells them, “Go in peace. Be warmed and filled;” yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? ¹⁷Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself. ¹⁸Yes, a man will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

¹⁹You believe that God is one. You do well. The demons also believe—and shudder. ²⁰But do you want to know, vain man, that faith apart from works is dead? ²¹Wasn’t Abraham our father justified by works, in that he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²²You see that faith worked with his works, and by works faith was perfected. ²³So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. ²⁴You see then that by works a man is justified, and not only by faith.

²⁵In the same way, wasn’t Rahab the prostitute also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? ²⁶For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, even so faith apart from works is dead.

^9:42“Whoever will cause one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea with a millstone hung around his neck. ⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having your two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire, ⁴⁴‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ ⁴⁵If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame, rather than having your two feet to be cast into Gehenna, into the fire that will never be quenched— ⁴⁶‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’

⁴⁷If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out. It is better for you to enter into God’s Kingdom with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire, ⁴⁸‘where their worm doesn’t die, and the fire is not quenched.’ ⁴⁹For everyone will be salted with fire, and every sacrifice will be seasoned with salt. ⁵⁰Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.” ^10:1He arose from there and came into the borders of Judea and beyond the Jordan. Multitudes came together to him again. As he usually did, he was again teaching them.