Sunday, September 28

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.

12But Peter arose and ran to the tomb; and stooping down, he saw the linen cloths lying by themselves; and he departed, marveling to himself at what had happened.

13Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem.

14And they talked together of all these things which had happened.

15So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them.

16But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

17And He said to them, 'What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?'

18Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, 'Are You the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?'

19And He said to them, 'What things?'

20So they said to Him, 'The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him.

21But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.

22Yes, and certain women of our company, who arrived at the tomb early, astonished us.

23When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive.

24And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.'

25Then He said to them, 'O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!

26Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?'

27And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.

28Then they drew near to the village where they were going, and He indicated that He would have gone farther.

29But they constrained Him, saying, 'Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent.' And He went in to stay with them.

30Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.

31Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

32And they said to one another, 'Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?'

33So they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together,

34saying, 'The Lord is risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!'

35And they told about the things that had happened on the road, and how He was known to them in the breaking of bread.

1We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

2For He says: 'In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you.' Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.

3We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed.

4But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses,

5in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings;

6by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love,

7by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

8by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true;

9as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed;

10as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

6For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

8We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;

9persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—

10always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

11For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

12So then death is working in us, but life in you.

13And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believe and therefore speak,

14knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you.

15For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God.

1So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret,

2and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets.

3Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat.

4When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, 'Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.'

5But Simon answered and said to Him, 'Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net.'

6And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking.

7So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink.

8When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, 'Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!'

9For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken;

10and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, 'Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.'

11So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

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.