Daily Readings

¹ And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh's daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about.² Only the people sacrificed in high places, because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days.³ And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places.⁴ And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar.⁵ In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask what I shall give thee.⁶ And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day.⁷ And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.⁸ And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.⁹ Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?¹⁰ And the speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had asked this thing.¹¹ And God said unto him, Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment;¹² Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee.¹³ And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days.¹⁴ And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days.¹⁵ And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants.¹⁶ Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him.¹⁷ And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house.¹⁸ And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.¹⁹ And this woman's child died in the night; because she overlaid it.²⁰ And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom.²¹ And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.²² And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king.²³ Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.²⁴ And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king.²⁵ And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.²⁶ Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.²⁷ Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof.²⁸ And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,² Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.³ For, lo, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the LORD: and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall possess it.⁴ And these are the words that the LORD spake concerning Israel and concerning Judah.⁵ For thus saith the LORD; We have heard a voice of trembling, of fear, and not of peace.⁶ Ask ye now, and see whether a man doth travail with child? wherefore do I see every man with his hands on his loins, as a woman in travail, and all faces are turned into paleness?⁷ Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob's trouble, but he shall be saved out of it.⁸ For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:⁹ But they shall serve the LORD their God, and David their king, whom I will raise up unto them.¹⁰ Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid.¹¹ For I am with thee, saith the LORD, to save thee: though I make a full end of all nations whither I have scattered thee, yet I will not make a full end of thee: but I will correct thee in measure, and will not leave thee altogether unpunished.¹² For thus saith the LORD, Thy bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous.¹³ There is none to plead thy cause, that thou mayest be bound up: thou hast no healing medicines.¹⁴ All thy lovers have forgotten thee; they seek thee not; for I have wounded thee with the wound of an enemy, with the chastisement of a cruel one, for the multitude of thine iniquity; because thy sins were increased.¹⁵ Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.¹⁶ Therefore all they that devour thee shall be devoured; and all thine adversaries, every one of them, shall go into captivity; and they that spoil thee shall be a spoil, and all that prey upon thee will I give for a prey.¹⁷ For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds, saith the LORD; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after.¹⁸ Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will bring again the captivity of Jacob's tents, and have mercy on his dwellingplaces; and the city shall be builded upon her own heap, and the palace shall remain after the manner thereof.¹⁹ And out of them shall proceed thanksgiving and the voice of them that make merry: and I will multiply them, and they shall not be few; I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.²⁰ Their children also shall be as aforetime, and their congregation shall be established before me, and I will punish all that oppress them.²¹ And their nobles shall be of themselves, and their governor shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is this that engaged his heart to approach unto me? saith the LORD.²² And ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.²³ Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked.²⁴ The fierce anger of the LORD shall not return, until he hath done it, and until he have performed the intents of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it.

¹ And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.² And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,³ Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:⁴ And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.⁵ And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:⁶ But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.⁸ And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.⁹ And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.¹⁰ And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.¹¹ And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:¹² That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.¹³ And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?¹⁴ The sower soweth the word.¹⁵ And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.¹⁶ And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;¹⁷ And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.¹⁸ And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,¹⁹ And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.²⁰ And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.²¹ And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?²² For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.²³ If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.²⁴ And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.²⁵ For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.²⁶ And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;²⁷ And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.²⁸ For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.²⁹ But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.³⁰ And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?³¹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:³² But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.³³ And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.³⁴ But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.³⁵ And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.³⁶ And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.³⁷ And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.³⁸ And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?³⁹ And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.⁴⁰ And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?