Monday, March 9

12But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake.

13But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony.

14Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer;

15for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

16You will be betrayed even by parents and brothers, relatives and friends; and they will put some of you to death.

17And you will be hated by all for My name's sake.

18But not a hair of your head shall be lost.

19By your patience possess your souls.

13Sanctify the Lord Himself, and He shall be your fear.

14So if you trust in Him, He shall be as a sanctuary for you, and you shall not come against Him as a stumbling stone nor as a rock of disaster. But the house of Jacob lies in wait with a snare, and those in Jerusalem with a trap.

15Therefore many among them shall be powerless and fall, and be broken, and men who are in safety shall draw near and be conquered.'

16Then they who seal the law so as not to learn it themselves shall be evident.

17But One will say, 'I shall wait for God who turned His face away from the house of Jacob, and I will trust in Him,

18behold, I and the children God gave me.' This will be for signs and wonders in the house of Israel from the Lord of hosts, who dwells in Mount Zion.

19So if they should say to you, 'Seek those who call from the earth and are ventriloquists, who speak from the belly,' should not a nation seek their God? Why do they seek the dead on behalf of the living?

20He gave the law to help them, so as not to speak such a word as this, concerning which word there are no gifts to offer with it.

21Thus a harsh famine will come upon you, and it shall be, when you are hungry, you will be grieved, and speak badly of your ruler and the idols. Then they shall look up to heaven above,

22and on the earth below, and behold, tribulation, distress, and darkness. There will be severe despair and darkness, so dark one cannot see.

23And the one who is in despair shall be perplexed, but only for a time.

1Do this first and do it quickly: O country of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, and the rest dwelling along the seacoast and parts of Judea, and the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, a people who walk in darkness, behold a great light; and you who dwell in the country of the shadow of death, upon you a light will shine.

2The multitude of the people, whom You brought down in Your joy, they shall also rejoice in Your presence, as those who rejoice in harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoils.

3For the yoke lying upon them and the rod upon their neck is taken away, for the Lord broke the rod of the exactors as in the day of Midian.

4For every robe and garment gathered by deceit, they shall repay with money, and they shall be willing to do this, even though they were burned with fire.

5For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. His name will be called the Angel of Great Counsel, for I shall bring peace upon the rulers, peace and health by Him.

6Great shall be His government, and of His peace there is no end. His peace shall be upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order and establish it with righteousness and judgment, from that time forward and unto ages of ages. The zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this.

7The Lord sent death against Jacob, and it came on Israel.

9This is the genealogy of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, who was perfect in his generation and well-pleasing to God.

10So Noah begot three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

11Now the earth was corrupt before God and filled with unrighteousness.

12Thus the Lord God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh corrupted their way on the earth.

13Then God said to Noah, 'The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with unrighteousness through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

14Make yourself an ark of square timber. You shall make the ark in compartments, and cover it inside and outside with pitch.

15Thus you shall make the ark: three hundred cubits in length, fifty cubits in breadth, and thirty cubits in height.

16Now when you assemble the ark, you shall gradually finish it up to a cubit at the top, and set the door in its side. You shall make the ark with lower, second, and third stories.

17And behold, I am bringing a flood of water on the earth, to destroy from under heaven all flesh in which is the breath of life. Whatever is on the earth shall die.

18But I will establish My covenant with you; and you shall go into the ark—you, your sons, your wife, and your sons' wives with you.

19From every living thing of all flesh you shall bring two of every kind into the ark, to keep them alive with you; they shall be male and female.

20Of the birds after their kind, of animals after their kind, and of every creeping thing on the earth after its kind, two of every kind, they will enter into the ark with you, male and female, to keep them alive.

21You shall also take for yourself all kinds of food to eat, and you shall gather it both for yourself and for them.'

22Thus Noah did according to all the Lord God commanded him, so he did.

1You shall proclaim wisdom That discernment may obey you;

2For she is on the lofty summit And stands in the midst of the paths.

3For she sits beside the gates of princes And sings at the entrances,

4"You, O men, I exhort, And I utter my voice to the sons of men;

5Understand astuteness, O simple ones, And put it in your heart, O uninstructed ones.

6Obey me, for I speak sacred things, And from my lips I will bring forth things that are true.

7For my mouth shall speak the truth, But false lips are an abomination before me.

8All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; There is nothing in them crooked or twisted.

9All things are evident to those who understand And true to those who find knowledge.

10Lay hold of instruction and not silver, And knowledge rather than tested gold, And choose perception rather than pure gold.

11For wisdom is better than precious stones, And every costly thing is not worthy of her.

12I, wisdom, dwell with counsel, And I call upon knowledge and understanding.

13The fear of the Lord hates unrighteousness, And both rudeness and arrogance, and the ways of wicked men; And I hate the perverted ways of evil men.

14Counsel and safety are mine; Discernment is mine, and strength is mine;

15By me, kings reign, And princes write of righteousness;

16By me, noblemen become great, And by me, monarchs have power in the land.

17I love those who love me, And those who seek me shall find me.

18Riches and glory belong to me, And abundant possessions, and righteousness;

19It is better to enjoy my fruits than gold and precious stones, And my fruits are better than choice silver.

20I walk in the ways of righteousness, And I am conversant with the paths of judgment;

21That I may distribute substance to those who love me, And may fill their treasuries with good things.

9All the nations are gathered together, and the rulers shall be assembled from among them. Who will declare these things or tell us things from the beginning? Let them bring forth their witnesses, and be proven right; and let them speak the truth.

10'You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God, 'and My Servant whom I chose, that you may know and believe, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no other God, nor shall there be after Me.

11I am God, and besides Me there is no one who saves.

12I proclaimed, and I saved. I denounced foreign gods so there were none among you. You are My witnesses, and I am a witness,' says the Lord God.

13'Even from the beginning, there is no one who can deliver out of My hands; I will work, and who will reverse it?'

14Thus says the Lord God who redeems you, the Holy One of Israel: 'For your sake I will send to Babylon and arouse all who flee, and the Chaldeans shall be bound in ships.

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.

1Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

4You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin.

5And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: 'My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

6For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.'

7If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?

8But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

9Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

10For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.

1For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

2Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard.

3And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,

4and said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went.

5Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise.

6And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day?'

7They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.'

8'So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, 'Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.'

9And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius.

10But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius.

11And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner,

12saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.'

13But he answered one of them and said, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius?

14Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.

15Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?'

16So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.'