Daily Readings

¹ Now it came to pass after the death of Saul, when David was returned from the slaughter of the Amalekites, and David had abode two days in Ziklag;² It came even to pass on the third day, that, behold, a man came out of the camp from Saul with his clothes rent, and earth upon his head: and so it was, when he came to David, that he fell to the earth, and did obeisance.³ And David said unto him, From whence comest thou? And he said unto him, Out of the camp of Israel am I escaped.⁴ And David said unto him, How went the matter? I pray thee, tell me. And he answered, That the people are fled from the battle, and many of the people also are fallen and dead; and Saul and Jonathan his son are dead also.⁵ And David said unto the young man that told him, How knowest thou that Saul and Jonathan his son be dead?⁶ And the young man that told him said, As I happened by chance upon mount Gilboa, behold, Saul leaned upon his spear; and, lo, the chariots and horsemen followed hard after him.⁷ And when he looked behind him, he saw me, and called unto me. And I answered, Here am I.⁸ And he said unto me, Who art thou? And I answered him, I am an Amalekite.⁹ He said unto me again, Stand, I pray thee, upon me, and slay me: for anguish is come upon me, because my life is yet whole in me.¹⁰ So I stood upon him, and slew him, because I was sure that he could not live after that he was fallen: and I took the crown that was upon his head, and the bracelet that was on his arm, and have brought them hither unto my lord.¹¹ Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:¹² And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of the LORD, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.¹³ And David said unto the young man that told him, Whence art thou? And he answered, I am the son of a stranger, an Amalekite.¹⁴ And David said unto him, How wast thou not afraid to stretch forth thine hand to destroy the LORD's anointed?¹⁵ And David called one of the young men, and said, Go near, and fall upon him. And he smote him that he died.¹⁶ And David said unto him, Thy blood be upon thy head; for thy mouth hath testified against thee, saying, I have slain the LORD's anointed.¹⁷ And David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son:¹⁸ (Also he bade them teach the children of Judah the use of the bow: behold, it is written in the book of Jasher.)¹⁹ The beauty of Israel is slain upon thy high places: how are the mighty fallen!²⁰ Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon; lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.²¹ Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.²² From the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not back, and the sword of Saul returned not empty.²³ Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in their death they were not divided: they were swifter than eagles, they were stronger than lions.²⁴ Ye daughters of Israel, weep over Saul, who clothed you in scarlet, with other delights, who put on ornaments of gold upon your apparel.²⁵ How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places.²⁶ I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women.²⁷ How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished!

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,² Stand in the gate of the LORD's house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the LORD, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the LORD.³ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you to dwell in this place.⁴ Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.⁵ For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;⁶ If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:⁷ Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.⁸ Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit.⁹ Will ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom ye know not;¹⁰ And come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered to do all these abominations?¹¹ Is this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, even I have seen it, saith the LORD.¹² But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wickedness of my people Israel.¹³ And now, because ye have done all these works, saith the LORD, and I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not;¹⁴ Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.¹⁵ And I will cast you out of my sight, as I have cast out all your brethren, even the whole seed of Ephraim.¹⁶ Therefore pray not thou for this people, neither lift up cry nor prayer for them, neither make intercession to me: for I will not hear thee.¹⁷ Seest thou not what they do in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem?¹⁸ The children gather wood, and the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead their dough, to make cakes to the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink offerings unto other gods, that they may provoke me to anger.¹⁹ Do they provoke me to anger? saith the LORD: do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?²⁰ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, mine anger and my fury shall be poured out upon this place, upon man, and upon beast, and upon the trees of the field, and upon the fruit of the ground; and it shall burn, and shall not be quenched.²¹ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Put your burnt offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat flesh.²² For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:²³ But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you.²⁴ But they hearkened not, nor inclined their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward, and not forward.²⁵ Since the day that your fathers came forth out of the land of Egypt unto this day I have even sent unto you all my servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them:²⁶ Yet they hearkened not unto me, nor inclined their ear, but hardened their neck: they did worse than their fathers.²⁷ Therefore thou shalt speak all these words unto them; but they will not hearken to thee: thou shalt also call unto them; but they will not answer thee.²⁸ But thou shalt say unto them, This is a nation that obeyeth not the voice of the LORD their God, nor receiveth correction: truth is perished, and is cut off from their mouth.²⁹ Cut off thine hair, O Jerusalem, and cast it away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.³⁰ For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD: they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my name, to pollute it.³¹ And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.³² Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be called Tophet, nor the valley of the son of Hinnom, but the valley of slaughter: for they shall bury in Tophet, till there be no place.³³ And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.³⁴ Then will I cause to cease from the cities of Judah, and from the streets of Jerusalem, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride: for the land shall be desolate.

¹ At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?² And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,³ And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.⁴ Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.⁵ And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.⁶ But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.⁷ Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!⁸ Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.⁹ And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.¹⁰ Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.¹¹ For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.¹² How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?¹³ And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.¹⁴ Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.¹⁵ Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother.¹⁶ But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.¹⁷ And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.¹⁸ Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.¹⁹ Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.²⁰ For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.²¹ Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?²² Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.²³ Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.²⁴ And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents.²⁵ But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.²⁶ The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.²⁷ Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.²⁸ But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.²⁹ And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.³⁰ And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.³¹ So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.³² Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:³³ Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?³⁴ And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.³⁵ So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.