Saturday, May 3

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.

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.

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.

17And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,

18as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed.

19And the whole multitude sought to touch Him, for power went out from Him and healed them all.

20'Blessed are you poor, For yours is the kingdom of God.

21Blessed are you who hunger now, For you shall be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, For you shall laugh.

22Blessed are you when men hate you, And when they exclude you, And revile you, and cast out your name as evil, For the Son of Man's sake.

23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy! For indeed your reward is great in heaven, For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.

21And when they heard that, they entered the temple early in the morning and taught. But the high priest and those with him came and called the council together, with all the elders of the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them brought.

22But when the officers came and did not find them in the prison, they returned and reported,

23saying, 'Indeed we found the prison shut securely, and the guards standing outside before the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside!'

24Now when the high priest, the captain of the temple, and the chief priests heard these things, they wondered what the outcome would be.

25So one came and told them, saying, 'Look, the men whom you put in prison are standing in the temple and teaching the people!'

26Then the captain went with the officers and brought them without violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.

27And when they had brought them, they set them before the council. And the high priest asked them,

28saying, 'Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man's blood on us!'

29But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: 'We ought to obey God rather than men.

30The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree.

31Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.

32And we are His witnesses to these things, and so also is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey Him.'

33When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them.

7Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.

8Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

9Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have not profited those who have been occupied with them.

10We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat.

11For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp.

12Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

13Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach.

14For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come.

15Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.

16But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

14Then those men, when they had seen the sign that Jesus did, said, 'This is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world.'

15Therefore when Jesus perceived that they were about to come and take Him by force to make Him king, He departed again to the mountain by Himself alone.

16Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea,

17got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them.

18Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing.

19So when they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus walking on the sea and drawing near the boat; and they were afraid.

20But He said to them, 'It is I; do not be afraid.'

21Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going.

22On the following day, when the people who were standing on the other side of the sea saw that there was no other boat there, except that one which His disciples had entered, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with His disciples, but His disciples had gone away alone—

23however, other boats came from Tiberias, near the place where they ate bread after the Lord had given thanks—

24when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there, nor His disciples, they also got into boats and came to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

25And when they found Him on the other side of the sea, they said to Him, 'Rabbi, when did You come here?'

26Jesus answered them and said, 'Most assuredly, I say to you, you seek Me, not because you saw the signs, but because you ate of the loaves and were filled.

27Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.'

27All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.

28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

29Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

30For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.'