Thursday, 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.

1In the year King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up. The house was full of His glory.

2Around Him stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

3And one cried to another and said, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory.'

4The lintel was lifted up by the voice of those who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke.

5So I said, 'Woe is me, because I am pierced to the heart, for being a man and having unclean lips, I dwell in the midst of a people with unclean lips; for I saw the King, the Lord of hosts, with my eyes!'

6Then one of the seraphim was sent to me. He had a live coal in his hand, which he took with tongs from the altar.

7He touched my mouth, and said, 'Behold, this has touched your lips. Your lawlessness is taken away, and your sin is cleansed.'

8I also heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people?' Then I said, 'Behold, here am I, send me.'

9So He said, 'Go, and tell this people, 'You shall hear indeed, but not understand; and you shall see indeed, but not perceive.'

10For the heart of this people has become insensitive, and their ears hear with difficulty. They have closed their eyes, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and return, and I should heal them.'

11Then I said, 'Lord, how long?' So He answered, 'Until the cities are laid waste and without inhabitant, the houses are without people, and the land shall be left desolate.

12After this God will remove the people far away, and those left in the land shall multiply.

1This is the book of the genesis of mankind in the day God made Adam, whom He made in God's image.

2He made them male and female, and blessed them; and the day He made them He called his name Adam.

3Now Adam lived two hundred and thirty years, and begot a son according to his form and image, and named him Seth.

4After he begot Seth, the days of Adam were seven hundred years; and he begot sons and daughters.

5So all the days Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years, and he died.

6Now Seth lived two hundred and five years, and begot Enosh.

7After he begot Enosh, Seth lived seven hundred and seven years, and begot sons and daughters.

8So all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years, and he died.

9Now Enosh lived one hundred and ninety years, and begot Cainan.

10After he begot Cainan, Enosh lived seven hundred and fifteen years, and begot sons and daughters.

11So all the days of Enosh were nine hundred and five years, and he died.

12Now Cainan lived one hundred and seventy years, and begot Mahalalel.

13After he begot Mahalalel, Cainan lived seven hundred and forty years, and begot sons and daughters.

14So all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years, and he died.

15Now Mahalalel lived one hundred and sixty-five years, and begot Jared.

16After he begot Jared, Mahalalel lived seven hundred and thirty years, and begot sons and daughters.

17So all the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred and ninety-five years, and he died.

18Now Jared lived one hundred and sixty-two years, and begot Enoch.

19After he begot Enoch, Jared lived eight hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

20So all the days of Jared were nine hundred and sixty-two years, and he died.

21Now Enoch lived one hundred and sixty-five years, and begot Methuselah.

22After he begot Methuselah, Enoch was well-pleasing to God for two hundred years, and begot sons and daughters.

23So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

24Thus Enoch was well-pleasing to God, and was not found, for God translated him.

3My son, do what I command you, and you will save yourself; For you came into the hands of evil things through your friend;

4Do not be faint, But provoke even your friend, for whom you assumed a debt;

5Do not give sleep to your eyes Nor slumber to your eyelids

6That you may be saved, as a gazelle from the snares, And as a bird from a trap.

7Compare yourself with the ant, O sluggard, And be zealous when you see his ways, And become wiser than he.

8For although he has no tilled land, Neither any one to compel him, Nor any master to rule him,

9Yet he prepares all his food in the summer And makes his provisions abundant in the winter.

10Or go to the honey bee, And learn how she is a worker And how solemnly she does her work,

11Whose labors kings and common people use for health; And she is desirable to all and glorious;

12And although she is weak in bodily strength, She leads the way in honoring wisdom.

13How long, O sluggard, will you be idle, And when will you arise from sleep?

14You sleep a little; you sit down a little; you doze a short while; And you fold your hands on your chest a little;

15Then poverty comes to you as an evil traveler And neediness as a swift runner.

16But if you are diligent, your harvest shall come to you as a fountain, And neediness as an evil runner shall desert you.

17A man who is without discernment and is lawless does not walk in good ways. But he winks with an eye; he makes a sign with his foot, And teaches with the wave of his hand.

18And with a perverse heart, he constantly schemes evil things; Such a man causes trouble in a city.

19Therefore his destruction comes suddenly, A deep and incurable wound.

20For he rejoices in every thing the Lord hates, And he shall be broken because of his soul's uncleanness:

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.