Daily Readings

¹ So king Solomon was king over all Israel.² And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest,³ Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder.⁴ And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok and Abiathar were the priests:⁵ And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king's friend:⁶ And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute.⁷ And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision.⁸ And these are their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim:⁹ The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Bethshemesh, and Elonbethhanan:¹⁰ The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher:¹¹ The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife:¹² Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Bethshean, which is by Zartanah beneath Jezreel, from Bethshean to Abelmeholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam:¹³ The son of Geber, in Ramothgilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars:¹⁴ Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim:¹⁵ Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to wife:¹⁶ Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth:¹⁷ Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar:¹⁸ Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin:¹⁹ Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land.²⁰ Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea in multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry.²¹ And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life.²² And Solomon's provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal,²³ Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl.²⁴ For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him.²⁵ And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beersheba, all the days of Solomon.²⁶ And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen.²⁷ And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon's table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing.²⁸ Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge.²⁹ And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the sea shore.³⁰ And Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.³¹ For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about.³² And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five.³³ And he spake of trees, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes.³⁴ And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.

¹ And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover of David.² And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying,³ Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet.⁴ But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent.⁵ And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of the LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name.⁶ Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians.⁷ And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people.⁸ And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir.⁹ My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household.¹⁰ So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire.¹¹ And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year.¹² And the LORD gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together.¹³ And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men.¹⁴ And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy.¹⁵ And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, and fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains;¹⁶ Beside the chief of Solomon's officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work.¹⁷ And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house.¹⁸ And Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stones to build the house.

¹ At the same time, saith the LORD, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.² Thus saith the LORD, The people which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.³ The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.⁴ Again I will build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: thou shalt again be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.⁵ Thou shalt yet plant vines upon the mountains of Samaria: the planters shall plant, and shall eat them as common things.⁶ For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto the LORD our God.⁷ For thus saith the LORD; Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout among the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O LORD, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.⁸ Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the coasts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall return thither.⁹ They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.¹⁰ Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.¹¹ For the LORD hath redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he.¹² Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of the LORD, for wheat, and for wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any more at all.¹³ Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.¹⁴ And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith the LORD.¹⁵ Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.¹⁶ Thus saith the LORD; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the LORD; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.¹⁷ And there is hope in thine end, saith the LORD, that thy children shall come again to their own border.¹⁸ I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the LORD my God.¹⁹ Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth.²⁰ Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the LORD.²¹ Set thee up waymarks, make thee high heaps: set thine heart toward the highway, even the way which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.²² How long wilt thou go about, O thou backsliding daughter? for the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth, A woman shall compass a man.²³ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity; The LORD bless thee, O habitation of justice, and mountain of holiness.²⁴ And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.²⁵ For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.²⁶ Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.²⁷ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.²⁸ And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up, and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to plant, saith the LORD.²⁹ In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children's teeth are set on edge.³⁰ But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.³¹ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:³² Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:³³ But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.³⁴ And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.³⁵ Thus saith the LORD, which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, which divideth the sea when the waves thereof roar; The LORD of hosts is his name:³⁶ If those ordinances depart from before me, saith the LORD, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.³⁷ Thus saith the LORD; If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith the LORD.³⁸ Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the city shall be built to the LORD from the tower of Hananeel unto the gate of the corner.³⁹ And the measuring line shall yet go forth over against it upon the hill Gareb, and shall compass about to Goath.⁴⁰ And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook of Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto the LORD; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

¹ And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.² And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,³ Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:⁴ Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.⁵ And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.⁶ But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him,⁷ And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.⁸ For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit.⁹ And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many.¹⁰ And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country.¹¹ Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding.¹² And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.¹³ And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea.¹⁴ And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done.¹⁵ And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.¹⁶ And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine.¹⁷ And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.¹⁸ And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him.¹⁹ Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.²⁰ And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.²¹ And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto the sea.²² And, behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at his feet,²³ And besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.²⁴ And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him, and thronged him.²⁵ And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years,²⁶ And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse,²⁷ When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment.²⁸ For she said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole.²⁹ And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.³⁰ And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?³¹ And his disciples said unto him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest thou, Who touched me?³² And he looked round about to see her that had done this thing.³³ But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.³⁴ And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.³⁵ While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further?³⁶ As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe.³⁷ And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James.³⁸ And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.³⁹ And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.⁴⁰ And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.⁴¹ And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.⁴² And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.⁴³ And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.