Friday, December 22

2Therefore He shall give them up until the appointed time for her to give birth, and then the remnant of their brothers will return to the sons of Israel.

3And He shall stand and see, and shepherd His flock in the strength of the Lord, and they will dwell in the glory of the name of the Lord their God, for now they will be magnified unto the ends of the earth.

4And she will have peace; for when the Assyrian comes into our land and goes up upon our country, then seven shepherds and eight attacks from men will be raised up against them.

1God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,

2has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;

3who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

4having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

5For to which of the angels did He ever say: 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You'? And again: 'I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son'?

6But when He again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: 'Let all the angels of God worship Him.'

7And of the angels He says: 'Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire.'

8But to the Son He says: 'Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom.

9You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions.'

10'You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

11They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;

12Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.'

18Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

19Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.

20But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.'

22So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:

23'Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which is translated, 'God with us.'

24Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,

25and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

35He called them and they said, 'Here we are!' They shone with gladness for Him who made them.

36This is our God; no other shall be compared to Him.

37He found the whole way of knowledge and gave it to Jacob His servant and to Israel His beloved.

38Afterwards, He was seen upon the earth and lived among men.

1She is the book of the commandments of God and the law that endures forever. All those who keep her will live, but those forsaking her will die.

2Return, O Jacob, and take hold of her. Walk toward the radiance of the presence of her light.

3Do not give your glory to another or the things that are of advantage to you to a foreign nation.

4O Israel, we are blessed, for what is pleasing to our God is known to us.

23But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed.

24Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.

25But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

26For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

27For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

29And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

1And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.

3So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.

4Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

5to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.

6So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

7And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

8Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.

10Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.

11For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.'

13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

14'Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'

15So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.'

16And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.

17Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.

18And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

19But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

20Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

10Moreover the Lord added this to Ahaz, saying,

11'Ask a sign for yourself from the Lord your God; ask it either in the depth or in the height above.'

12But Ahaz said, 'I will not ask, nor will I tempt the Lord.'

13Then Isaiah said, 'Hear now, O house of David, is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary the Lord also?

14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Immanuel.

15Butter and honey He shall eat before He knows to prefer evil or choose the good,

16for before the Child knows good or evil, He refuses the evil to choose the good; and the land you fear because of the presence of the two kings will be abandoned.

17But God will bring the king of Assyria upon you, your people and your father's house—days that have not yet come, from the days Ephraim took away from Judah the king of the Assyrians.'

18And it shall come to pass in that day, the Lord will whistle for the fly that rules over part of the river of Egypt, and for the bee in the land of Assyria.

19All of them will come and rest in the ravines of the country, in the clefts of the rocks, in the caves and every crevice and tree.

20In that day, the Lord will shave—with a large and blood-drenched razor belonging to the king of Assyria beyond the river—the head and the hair of the legs, and will also remove the beard.

21It shall be in that day, a man will rear a heifer and two sheep.

22So it shall be, from the abundance of milk they give, everyone left in the land will eat butter and honey.

23It shall happen in that day, wherever there could be a thousand vines worth a thousand shekels of silver, it will be a barren land with thorn-plants.

24Men will enter there with bows and arrows, for all the land will be barren and with thorn-plants.

25Every mountain shall certainly be plowed, and there shall be no fear there from barren land and thorn-plants, for it will be a pasture for sheep and a place for oxen to roam.

1Moreover the Lord said to me, 'Take for yourself a large new book, and write on it with a man's pen concerning making a swift plunder of spoils, for it is near at hand.

2Then make witnesses for Me of faithful men: Uriah and Zechariah, the son of Berechiah.'

3Then I went to the prophetess, and she conceived and bore a son, and the Lord said to me, 'Call his name Quickly Despoil, Swiftly Plunder;

4for before the child shall know how to call for his father and mother, one shall take the power of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria in the presence of the king of Assyria.'

5The Lord also added this for me to speak as well, saying:

6'Because this people did not choose the water of Siloam that flows quietly, but chose Rezin and Remaliah's son to be king over you;

7therefore, behold, the Lord brings upon you the mighty and abundant water of the river, the king of the Assyrians, and his glory. He shall come up over every ravine of yours and walk over all your walls,

8and take away from Judah every man able to raise his head or accomplish anything. His encampment will fill the breadth of Your land, O God with us.

9Know this, O Gentiles, and be defeated. Give ear, all you to the very ends of the earth. Be defeated although you are strong, for even if you should be strong again, you will be defeated again.

10Then too, whatever counsel you take, the Lord will scatter it abroad; and whatever word you shall speak, it will not continue among you, for the Lord God is with us.'

10'You, LORD, in the beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands.

11They will perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment;

12Like a cloak You will fold them up, And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail.'

13But to which of the angels has He ever said: 'Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool'?

14Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

1Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.

2For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward,

3how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

1Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem,

2saying, 'Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.'

3When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.

5So they said to him, 'In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet:

6'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, Are not the least among the rulers of Judah; For out of you shall come a Ruler Who will shepherd My people Israel.' '

7Then Herod, when he had secretly called the wise men, determined from them what time the star appeared.

8And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, 'Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also.'

9When they heard the king, they departed; and behold, the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.

10When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down and worshiped Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.

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.

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.

13Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.'

14When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt,

15and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, 'Out of Egypt I called My Son.'

16Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men.

17Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying:

18'A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted, Because they are no more.'

19Now when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,

20saying, 'Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child's life are dead.'

21Then he arose, took the young Child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee.

23And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, 'He shall be called a Nazarene.'

18For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness,

19for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.

20And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath

21(for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him: 'The LORD has sworn And will not relent, 'You are a priest forever According to the order of Melchizedek' '),

22by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.

23Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing.

24But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

25Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.

23Then Jesus looked around and said to His disciples, 'How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!'

24And the disciples were astonished at His words. But Jesus answered again and said to them, 'Children, how hard it is for those who trust in riches to enter the kingdom of God!

25It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.'

26And they were greatly astonished, saying among themselves, 'Who then can be saved?'

27But Jesus looked at them and said, 'With men it is impossible, but not with God; for with God all things are possible.'

28Then Peter began to say to Him, 'See, we have left all and followed You.'

29So Jesus answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel's,

30who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.'

32Now they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going before them; and they were amazed. And as they followed they were afraid. Then He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them the things that would happen to Him: