Monday, April 7

1Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

2But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

3To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

4And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.

5Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.'

6Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them.

7Then Jesus said to them again, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.

8All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.

9I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

17Thus says the Lord who delivers you, the Holy One of Israel: 'I am your God, who showed you how to find the way wherein you should walk.

18If only you had heeded My commandments, then your peace would be like a river, and your righteousness as a wave of the sea.

19Your seed would also be like the sand, and the offspring of your womb like the dust of the ground. Neither would you be utterly destroyed now, nor would your name perish before Me.'

20Go forth from Babylon, you who are fleeing from the Chaldeans. Proclaim a voice of gladness and let it become well known. Proclaim it to the end of the earth, and say, 'The Lord delivered His servant Jacob.'

21If they shall thirst, He will lead them through the desert, and water shall flow from the rock for them. He will split the rock, the water shall flow, and My people will drink.

22'There is no rejoicing,' says the Lord, 'for the ungodly.'

1Listen to Me, O coastlands, and take heed, you Gentiles. It will stand for a long time,' says the Lord. 'He called My name from My mother's womb.

2He made My mouth like a sharp sword, and hid Me under the shadow of His hand. He made Me as a chosen arrow and covered Me in His quiver.

3He said to me, 'You are My servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified.'

4Then I said, 'I have labored in vain and spent My strength for nothing. Therefore My judgment is from the Lord, and my labor is before My God.'

1Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, 'My son.' And he answered him, 'Here I am.'

2Then he said, 'Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death.

3Now therefore, take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me.

4Then make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.'

5Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son; and Esau went to the field to hunt game for his father.

6So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her younger son, saying, 'Indeed, I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying,

7'Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.'

8Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you.

9Go now to the sheep and bring me from there two kids, choice and good, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves.

10Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it and bless you before his death.'

11Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, 'Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man.

12Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.'

13But his mother said to him, 'Your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.'

14So he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved.

15Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son.

16She also put the skins of the kids on his hands and on the exposed part of his neck.

17Then she gave the savory food and the bread she had prepared into the hands of her son Jacob.

18Thus he went to his father and said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am. Who are you, my son?'

19Jacob said to his father, 'I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.'

20But Isaac said to his son, 'How is it you have found it so quickly, my son?' He said, 'Because the Lord your God brought it to me.'

21Then Isaac said to Jacob, 'Come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are my son Esau or not.'

22So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, 'The voice is Jacob's, but the hands are Esau's.'

23Thus he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's hands; so he blessed him.

24Then he said, 'Are you my son Esau?' He said, 'I am.'

25He said, 'Bring your game to me, my son, and I will eat from it, that my soul may bless you.' So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank.

26Then his father Isaac said to him, 'Come near and kiss me, my son.'

27So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing.

28'Surely, the smell of my son Is like the smell of a field the Lord has blessed. Therefore, may God give you of the dew of heaven And of the fatness of the earth, And plenty of grain and wine.

29Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brethren, And let your mother's sons bow down to you.

30And cursed be every one who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you.' Now it happened, as soon as Isaac finished blessing Jacob his son, and Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from his hunting.

31He also had made savory food, and brought it to his father, and said to his father, 'Let my father arise and eat of his son's game, that your soul may bless me.'

32And his father Isaac said to him, 'Who are you?' So he said, 'I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.'

33Then Isaac trembled exceedingly, and said, 'Who? Where is the one who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate all of it before you came, and I have blessed him—and indeed, he shall be blessed.'

34When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, 'Bless me—me also, O my father!'

35But he said, 'Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.'

36Then Esau said, 'Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright, and now look, he has taken away my blessing.' So he said, 'Have you not reserved a blessing for me?'

37Then Isaac answered and said to Esau, 'Indeed, I have made him your lord, and all his brethren I have given to him as servants; with grain and wine I have sustained him. What shall I do now for you, my son?'

38Esau said to his father, 'Have you only one blessing, my father? Bless me—me also, O my father!' But when Isaac was troubled, Esau lifted up his voice and wept.

39Then Isaac his father answered and said to him: 'Behold, your dwelling shall be of the fatness of the earth, And of the dew of heaven from above.

40By your sword you shall live, And you shall serve your brother; And it shall come to pass, when you become restless, That you shall break his yoke from your neck.'

41Thus Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father blessed him; and Esau said in his mind, 'Let the days of mourning for my father draw near, then I will kill my brother Jacob.'

16He who guards the commandment keeps his soul, But he who despises his ways shall perish.

17The one who has mercy on the poor lends to God, And He will repay him according to his gift.

18Instruct your son, for thus he shall be hopeful, But do not lift up your soul in arrogance.

19A malicious man shall be punished severely, And if he commits injury, he will also add this to his soul.

20Hear, my son, the instruction of your father, That you may become wise in your last days.

21There are many thoughts in the heart of a man, But the counsel of the Lord abides forever.

22Mercy is fruit to a man, And a poor righteous man is better than a rich liar.

23The fear of the Lord is unto life for a man, And he shall lodge without fear in places where knowledge is not examined.

24A man who hides his hands in his bosom unrighteously, He will not even bring them up to his mouth.

25When a pestilent man is punished, a man without discernment becomes more astute, But if you reprove a discerning man, he will understand perception.

1But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, And no torture will ever touch them.

2In the eyes of the undiscerning they seemed to have died, And their departure was considered to be misfortune,

3And their passage from us to be their destruction; But they are at peace.

4For though in man's view they were punished, Their hope is full of immortality.

5Though chastened in a few things, Great kindness will be shown them, For God tested them and found them worthy of Himself.

6He tested them like gold in a furnace And accepted them as a whole burnt offering.

7In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, And they will run about like sparks through straw.

8They will judge nations and rule over peoples, And the Lord shall reign over them unto the ages.

9Those who trust in Him will understand truth, And the faithful shall continue with Him in love, Because grace and mercy are upon His elect.

15But the righteous live forever, And their reward is with the Lord; And their care is by the Most High.

16Therefore they shall receive a kingly dwelling of dignity And a crown of beauty from the hand of the Lord, Because He will shelter them with His right hand And protect them with His arm.

17He will take His zeal as His full armor And will turn His creation into weapons against His enemies.

18He will wear righteousness as a breastplate And put on impartial judgment as a helmet.

19He will take holiness as an unconquerable shield

20And sharpen His relentless wrath for a sword; And creation will fight with Him against the senseless.

21Well-aimed flashes of lightning will strike And leap to their object as from a well-drawn bow of clouds;

22And hailstones full of anger will be hurled As from an engine of war. The water of the sea will be vexed with them, And the rivers will wash over them severely.

23A powerful wind will oppose them, And like a storm it will winnow them away. Lawlessness will lay waste all the earth, And wrongdoing will overturn the thrones of rulers.

1Listen therefore, O kings, and understand; Learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.

2Give ear, you that rule over multitudes, And take pride in yourself over a multitude of nations.

3For power was given to you from the Lord, And your lordship from the Most High, Who will make a careful search of your works And examine closely your plans.

7But though a righteous man may die before his time, He shall be at rest.

8For old age is not honored for its length of existence, Nor measured by its number of years;

9But discernment is gray hair for mankind, And a spotless life is the maturity of old age.

10There was once a man pleasing to God and loved by Him, And while living among sinners he was taken up.

11He was caught up lest evil change his understanding Or deceit deceive his soul.

12For envy arising from lack of judgment obscures what is good, And a whirling of desire undermines an innocent heart.

13He was made perfect, For in a short time he fulfilled long years,

14For his soul was pleasing to the Lord; Therefore, He took him early from the midst of evil. Yet peoples saw this but did not understand, Nor take such a thing to heart,

15That the Lord's grace and mercy are with His elect And that He watches over His holy ones.

26For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

27who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself.

28For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.

1Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,

2a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.

9I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.

10The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

11'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.

12But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.

13The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep.

14I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.

15As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.

16And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and one shepherd.