Wednesday, July 15

22You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; You have both spoken with Your mouth, and fulfilled it with Your hand, as today.

23Now, O Lord God of Israel, keep what You promised Your servant David my father, saying, 'You shall not fail to have a man sit before Me on the throne of Israel, so long as your people guard and keep their ways to walk before Me, as you walked before Me.'

24So now, O Lord God of Israel, let the word be confirmed You spoke to Your servant David my father.

25'But will God indeed dwell with men on earth? If the heaven and the heaven of heaven will not be sufficient for You, how much less even this temple I built in Your name?

26Yet, O Lord God of Israel, regard my prayer, which Your servant is praying before You today,

27that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward the place of which You said, 'My name shall be there,' to hear the prayer Your servant prays in this place day and night.

28You will hear the supplication of Your servant and of Your people Israel when they pray toward this place. You will hear in Your dwelling place in heaven, and You will be merciful.

29'When anyone sins against his neighbor, or if he takes up an oath that he should swear, and comes and redeems himself before Your altar in this temple,

30You will hear in heaven, and act, and judge Your people Israel; condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving to him according to his righteousness.

10and they shall have exceeding gladness in the Lord.'

11Let my soul rejoice exceedingly in the Lord, for He clothed me with the garment of salvation and the tunic of gladness. He put a miter around me like a bridegroom and adorned me with ornaments like a bride. As the earth causes its flower to grow, and as a garden its seeds, so shall the Lord cause righteousness to rise up, and exceeding joy before all the Gentiles.

1For Zion's sake I will not be silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until My righteousness goes forth as light, and My salvation burns like a lamp.

2The Gentiles will see your righteousness, and kings your glory; and one will call you by your new name, which the Lord shall name.

3You shall also be a crown of beauty in the Lord's hand, and the diadem of a kingdom in the hand of your God.

4You shall no longer be called Forsaken, and your land shall not be called Desert; for you shall be called My Will, and in your land, the Inhabited Earth.

5As a young man lives in wedlock with a virgin, so shall your sons dwell with you, and as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so the Lord shall rejoice over you.

1Shine, shine, O Jerusalem, for your light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon you.

2Behold, darkness and gloom shall cover the earth upon the nations, but the Lord will shine on you; and His glory shall be seen upon you.

3Kings shall come to your light, and the Gentiles to your brightness.

4Lift up your eyes all around, and see your children gathered together. Behold, all your sons come from afar, and your daughters shall be lifted upon their shoulders.

5Then you will see, fear and be amazed in your heart, because the wealth of the sea and of nations and peoples shall change their course and turn to you.

6Herds of camels shall come to you, and the camels of Midian and Ephah shall cover you. All those from Sheba shall come bearing gold, and they shall bring frankincense and proclaim the good news of the Lord's salvation.

7All the sheep of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, and the rams of Nebaioth shall come to you. They shall offer acceptable sacrifices upon My altar, and My house of prayer shall be glorified.

8Who are these who fly like clouds and like doves with young?

9The coastlands waited for Me, and the ships of Tarshish among the first, to bring your children from afar, and silver and gold with them for the sake of the Lord's name, and because the Holy One of Israel is glorified.

10Foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall defend you; for I struck you because of My wrath, and I loved you because of My mercy.

11Your gates shall be opened continually, and they shall not be shut day or night, to bring you the power of the Gentiles, and their kings leading them.

12For the nations and their kings who will not serve you shall perish, and those nations will be utterly desolate.

13The glory of Lebanon shall come to you, with the cypress, the pine, and the cedar together, to glorify My holy place.

14The sons of those who humbled and provoked you shall go to you in fear, and you shall be called City of the Lord, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.

15Because you were forsaken and hated, and there was no one to help you, therefore I will make you an eternal joy, the gladness of generations to generations.

16You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles and eat the wealth of kings. You shall know I am the Lord who saves you and the God of Israel who delivers you.

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.

12But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.

13And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

14For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

15But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called us to peace.

16For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save your wife?

17But as God has distributed to each one, as the Lord has called each one, so let him walk. And so I ordain in all the churches.

18Was anyone called while circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Was anyone called while uncircumcised? Let him not be circumcised.

19Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.

20Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called.

21Were you called while a slave? Do not be concerned about it; but if you can be made free, rather use it.

22For he who is called in the Lord while a slave is the Lord's freedman. Likewise he who is called while free is Christ's slave.

23You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men.

24Brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called.

11But I make known to you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me is not according to man.

12For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came through the revelation of Jesus Christ.

13For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it.

14And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb and called me through His grace,

16to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood,

17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.

18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.

19But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.

35And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick,

36and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

1Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,

2'Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.'

3He answered and said to them, 'Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?

4For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.'

5But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, 'Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God '-

6then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.

7Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:

8'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.

9And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' '

10When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, 'Hear and understand:

11Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.'

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.