Wednesday, March 25

39Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah,

40and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.

41And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

42Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

43But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?

44For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.

45Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord.'

46'My soul magnifies the Lord,

47And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

48For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.

49For He who is mighty has done great things for me, And holy is His name.

50And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation.

51He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

52He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.

53He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.

54He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,

55As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever.'

56And Mary remained with her about three months, and returned to her house.

4Who worked and performed these things? He called righteousness, He who calls it from generations of old. I, God, am the first, and into the future I Am.

5The Gentiles saw His righteousness and feared. The ends of the earth drew near and came together,

6each one judging for his neighbor, that he might help his brother. One will say,

7'The craftsman is strong, as is the metalworker who strikes with the hammer and forges at the same time.' Sometimes one will say, 'It is put together well, and they fastened it with nails. They arranged them, and they shall not be moved.'

8'But you, O Israel, are My servant, and Jacob, whom I chose, the seed of Abraham, whom I loved.

9I took you from the ends of the earth, and called you from its height. I said to you, 'You are My servant. I chose you, and have not forsaken you.

10Fear not, for I am with you. Do not go astray, for I am your God who strengthens you; and I will help and secure you with My righteous right hand.'

11Behold, all your adversaries shall be put to shame and disgraced. For they shall be as though they did not exist, and all who oppose you shall perish.

12You shall seek but not find the men who rage against you, for those who war against you shall be as though they did not exist.

13For I am your God who holds your right hand, saying to you, 'Fear not.'

14O Jacob, O Israel, few in number, I will help you, and I will redeem you, O Israel,' says God.

1When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abram and said to him, 'I am your God; be pleasing before Me and blameless.

2I will establish My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.'

3Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying,

4'As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations.

5No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.

6I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you.

7I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be your God and the God of your seed after you.

8Also I will give you and your seed after you the land you are occupying as a sojourner, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.'

9Then God said to Abraham, 'As for you, you shall keep My covenant, you and your seed after you throughout their generations.

20A longsuffering man will extinguish condemnations, But the ungodly man stirs up more.

21The ways of idle men are strewn with thorny plants, But the thorny plants of the courageous are worn smooth.

22A wise son gladdens a father, But a son without discernment treats his mother with contempt.

23The paths of one without understanding are in need of discernment, But a man with discernment walks uprightly.

24Those not honoring councils defer their deliberations, But counsel remains in the hearts of those who resolve to do it.

25The evil man will not obey counsel, Nor will he speak anything appropriate, even something for the common good.

26The thoughts of a wise man are his ways of life, That he might turn aside and be saved from Hades.

27The Lord will destroy the houses of the arrogant, But He will strengthen the boundary of a widow.

28The thinking of the unrighteous man is an abomination to the Lord, But the words of the holy are sacred.

29He who receives bribes utterly destroys himself, But he who hates the receiving of bribes saves himself.

30Sins are cleansed by almsgiving and faithfulness, And by the fear of the Lord every one turns aside from evil.

31The hearts of the righteous care about faithfulness, But the mouth of the ungodly answers evil things.

32The ways of righteous men are acceptable before the Lord, And through them even enemies become friends.

33God is far from the ungodly, But He hears the prayers of the righteous.

34Better is a small yield with the righteous Than abundant fruits with the unrighteous.

35Let the heart of a man think righteous things That he may make his steps straight under God.

36The eye that beholds good things gladdens the heart, But a good report enriches the bones.

37He who rejects instruction hates himself, But he who gives heed to reproofs loves his soul.

38The fear of God is instruction and wisdom, And the beginning of glory will respond to it.

1All the works of the humble are evident before the Lord, But the ungodly will be destroyed in the evil day.

2Every high-hearted man is unclean before the Lord, And he who joins hands with the unrighteous will not go unpunished.

3The beginning of a good way is to do righteous things, And this is more acceptable to God than to offer sacrifices.

4He who seeks the Lord will find knowledge with righteousness, And those who seek Him rightly will find peace.

5All the works of the Lord are with righteousness, But the ungodly man is kept for an evil day.

6There is an oracle on the lips of a king, And his mouth does not err in judgment.

7The weight of a scale is righteousness before the Lord, For His works are righteous standards.

8He who does evil things is an abomination to a king, For the throne of a ruler is prepared with righteousness.

9Righteous lips are acceptable to a king, And he loves upright words.

1Now Moses was tending the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. Then he led them to the back of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2Then the Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he saw the bush burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

3So Moses said, 'I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed.'

4When therefore the Lord saw him turn aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses! Moses!' Then he said, 'Here I am.'

5So He said, 'Do not come any closer. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.'

6Moreover He said, 'I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' Moses then hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

7Then the Lord said, 'Indeed, I have seen the affliction of My people in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrow.

8So I came down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a good and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Gergesites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

22If I declare to you the things that happen daily, I will also remember to recount the things of old.

23The Lord created me in the beginning of His ways for His works; He established me in the beginning before time,

24Before He made the earth, and before He made the abysses, Before the going forth of the fountains of waters,

25Before the mountains were created; And He begot me before all hills.

26The Lord made the fields and the uninhabited places And the inhabited heights under heaven.

27When He prepared heaven, I was present with Him, And when He set apart His throne upon the winds.

28When He made strong the things above the clouds, And made sure the fountains under heaven,

29And made strong the foundations of the earth, I was working beside Him;

30I was He in whom He rejoiced; Daily and continually I was gladdened by His face.

11For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,

12saying: 'I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.'

13And again: 'I will put My trust in Him.' And again: 'Here am I and the children whom God has given Me.'

14Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil,

15and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

16For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham.

17Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

18For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.

24Now after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived; and she hid herself five months, saying,

25'Thus the Lord has dealt with me, in the days when He looked on me, to take away my reproach among people.'

26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

28And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!'

29But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.

30Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.

32He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.

33And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.'

34Then Mary said to the angel, 'How can this be, since I do not know a man?'

35And the angel answered and said to her, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.

36Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.

37For with God nothing will be impossible.'

38Then Mary said, 'Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her.