Sunday, December 24

9By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise;

10for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

11By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised.

12Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

13These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

14For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

15And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

16But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.

17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son,

18of whom it was said, 'In Isaac your seed shall be called,'

19concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense.

20By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come.

21By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff.

22By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones.

23By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king's command.

24By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter,

25choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin,

26esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward.

27By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible.

28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them.

29By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.

30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.

31By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

32And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:

33who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

35Women received their dead raised to life again.

36Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.

37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—

38of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

39And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,

40God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

1The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:

2Abraham begot Isaac, Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot Judah and his brothers.

3Judah begot Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez begot Hezron, and Hezron begot Ram.

4Ram begot Amminadab, Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon.

5Salmon begot Boaz by Rahab, Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse,

6and Jesse begot David the king.

7David the king begot Solomon by her who had been the wife of Uriah. Solomon begot Rehoboam, Rehoboam begot Abijah, and Abijah begot Asa.

8Asa begot Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat begot Joram, and Joram begot Uzziah.

9Uzziah begot Jotham, Jotham begot Ahaz, and Ahaz begot Hezekiah.

10Hezekiah begot Manasseh, Manasseh begot Amon, and Amon begot Josiah.

11Josiah begot Jeconiah and his brothers about the time they were carried away to Babylon.

12And after they were brought to Babylon, Jeconiah begot Shealtiel, and Shealtiel begot Zerubbabel.

13Zerubbabel begot Abiud, Abiud begot Eliakim, and Eliakim begot Azor.

14Azor begot Zadok, Zadok begot Achim, and Achim begot Eliud.

15Eliud begot Eleazar, Eleazar begot Matthan, and Matthan begot Jacob.

16And Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus who is called Christ.

17So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations.

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.

1In the beginning God made heaven and earth.

2The earth was invisible and unfinished; and the darkness was over the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water.

3Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light.

4God saw the light; it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.

5God called the light Day; the darkness He called Night; and there was evening and morning, one day.

6Then God said, 'Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water, and let it divide the water from the water'; and it was so.

7Thus God made the firmament, and God divided the water under the firmament from the water above the firmament.

8So God called the firmament Heaven, and God saw that it was good; and there was evening and morning, the second day.

9Then God said, 'Let the water under heaven be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear'; and it was so. The water under heaven was gathered into its places, and the dry land appeared.

10So God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas; and God saw that it was good.

11Then God said, 'Let the earth bring forth the herb of grass, bearing seed according to its kind and likeness. Let the fruit tree bear fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind on earth.' It was so.

12Thus the earth brought forth the herb of grass, bearing seed according to its kind and likeness. The fruit tree bore fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind on earth. God saw that it was good.

13So evening and morning were the third day.

2Then Balaam raised his eyes and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

3Then he took up his parable and said: 'Balaam the son of Beor declares; The man who truly sees declares;

4The one who hears the sayings of God declares; The one who saw the vision of God in a dream, A revelation seen by him:

5How beautiful are your dwellings, O Jacob, Your tents, O Israel.

6Like wooded valleys offering shade, And like gardens by the rivers, Like tents the Lord pitched, Like cedars beside the waters.

7A Man shall come forth from his seed, And He shall rule many nations; And His kingdom shall be more exalted than Gog, And His kingdom shall increase.

8God led Him out of Egypt, And He has the glorious appearance of a unicorn. He shall consume the nations of his enemies And deprive them of their strength. He shall shoot the enemy with His missiles.

9He lies down and rests like a lion, And like a lion's cub, who shall rouse Him?

10Those who bless You are blessed, And those who curse You are cursed.' Then Balak was angry with Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, 'I summoned you to curse my enemy, and look, you actually blessed him for a third time.

11Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would honor you, but in fact, the Lord deprived you of glory.'

12So Balaam said to Balak, 'Did I not also tell your messengers whom you sent to me, saying,

13'If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the Lord's word, to do good or evil of my own will. Whatever the Lord may say, this I shall speak'?

14So now, indeed, I am going to my place. Come, I will counsel you as to what this people will do to your people in the latter days.'

15'Balaam the son of Beor declares; The man who truly sees declares;

16The one who hears the sayings of God declares; And the one who knows the knowledge of the Most High, And who saw the vision of God in a dream, a revelation seen by him:

17I will show Him, but not now; I bless Him, but He is not near. A Star shall rise out of Jacob; And a Man shall rise out of Israel. He shall break in pieces the rulers of Moab And plunder all the sons of Seth.

18Edom shall be His inheritance, And also His enemy shall be His inheritance; But Israel acts with strength.

6'In that day,' says the Lord, 'I shall gather her who has been broken, and I will welcome her who has been exiled, even those whom I have rejected.

7And I shall make her who has been broken into a remnant, and her that was rejected into a strong nation. So the Lord will reign over them in Mount Zion henceforth and forever.

8And you, O daughter of Zion, dark tower of the flock, on you it will come and enter in, even the former kingdom of Babylon to the daughter of Jerusalem.'

9And now, why have you experienced such evils? Was there no king in your midst? Or did your counsel perish? For your birth pangs have seized you as one in labor.

10Suffer birth pains and take courage, O daughter of Zion, and draw near like a woman giving birth; for now you will be exiled from the city, and you will abide in the flat open country, and you will have come as far off as Babylon; and from that place the Lord your God shall redeem you from the hand of your enemies.

11Now many nations have gathered against you, saying, 'We will rejoice, and our eyes will gaze upon Zion.'

12But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord nor perceive His counsel, for He gathered them like sheaves for the threshing floor.

13'Arise and thresh them, O daughter of Zion, for I shall make your horns iron, and I will make your hooves bronze. And you will cause the nations to melt away, and you will winnow many peoples. You will dedicate their abundance to the Lord and their strength to the Lord of all the earth.

14Now the daughter of Ephraim will be blockaded by a siege wall; for he ordered affliction against us, and they shall smite the tribes of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.'

1And you, O Bethlehem, House of Ephrathah, though you are fewest in number among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to me the One to be ruler of Israel. His goings forth were from the beginning, even from everlasting.'

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.

1There shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse, and a flower shall grow out of his root.

2The Spirit of God shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and godliness.

3The Spirit of the fear of God shall fill Him. He shall not judge by reputation nor convict by common talk.

4But He will judge the cause of the humble, and reprove the humble of the earth. He shall strike the earth with the word of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the ungodly.

5He shall gird His loins with righteousness and cover his sides with truth.

6'The wolf shall feed with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf, the bull, and the lion shall feed together; and a little child shall lead them.

7The cow and the bear shall graze together, and their young ones shall lie down together. The lion and the ox shall eat straw together.

8The nursing child shall play by the hole of asps, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the den of asps.

9They shall not hurt nor be able to destroy anyone on My holy mountain, for the whole world shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as much water covers the seas.

10'It shall come to pass in that day that there shall be a Root of Jesse who shall arise to rule nations. The Gentiles shall hope in Him, and His resting place shall be honorable.'

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.

31'As for you, O king, you saw and beheld one great image. That image was very large and its appearance excellent. It stood before you, and its vision was fearful.

32The image had a head made of fine gold, and its hands, chest, and arms were made of silver, and its stomach and thighs, of copper.

33Its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly clay.

34You saw while a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and ground them to powder.

35Then at once the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold were like dust from the summer threshing floor, and a great force of wind blew them away; and their place was not to be found. Then the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled all the earth.

36'This is the dream, and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

37You, O king, are a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong, mighty, and highly regarded kingdom.

38In every place where the children of men live, as well as the wild animals of the field and the birds of heaven—He put them all in your hand, and made you the lord of them all. You are the head made of gold.

39But after you another kingdom shall arise, inferior to yours; then a third kingdom of copper, which shall rule over all the earth.

40Then a fourth kingdom as strong as iron shall arise, and inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues everything, so also it shall break in pieces and subdue all things.

41Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly clay and partly iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, in the manner you saw the iron mixed with the clay.

42Whereas the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong and part of it shall be broken.

43Whereas you saw iron mixed with clay, they shall mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay.

44'Then in the times of those kings, the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom, and it shall never be destroyed. This kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it will break in pieces and crush all these kingdoms; and it will stand forever.

45Whereas you saw the stone cut out of the mountain without hands, it ground to powder the clay, the iron, the copper, the silver, and the gold. Thus the great God has made known to the king what must come to pass after this. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.'

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.

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.'

1Now the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.

2Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, 'They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.'

3Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb.

4So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first.

5And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in.

6Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,

7and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself.

8Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.

9For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.

10Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.

15Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man's covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.

16Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, 'And to seeds,' as of many, but as of one, 'And to your Seed,' who is Christ.

17And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.

18For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

19What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator.

20Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one.

21Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law.

22But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe.

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.