Daily Readings

¹ And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon's reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD.² And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits.³ And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house.⁴ And for the house he made windows of narrow lights.⁵ And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambers round about:⁶ The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house.⁷ And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building.⁸ The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third.⁹ So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar.¹⁰ And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar.¹¹ And the word of the LORD came to Solomon, saying,¹² Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father:¹³ And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel.¹⁴ So Solomon built the house, and finished it.¹⁵ And he built the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the ceiling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir.¹⁶ And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place.¹⁷ And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits long.¹⁸ And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen.¹⁹ And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD.²⁰ And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar.²¹ So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold.²² And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold.²³ And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high.²⁴ And five cubits was the one wing of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits.²⁵ And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size.²⁶ The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub.²⁷ And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house.²⁸ And he overlaid the cherubims with gold.²⁹ And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without.³⁰ And the floors of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without.³¹ And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall.³² The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees.³³ So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall.³⁴ And the two doors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding.³⁵ And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work.³⁶ And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams.³⁷ In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif:³⁸ And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.

¹ The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar.² For then the king of Babylon's army besieged Jerusalem: and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the prison, which was in the king of Judah's house.³ For Zedekiah king of Judah had shut him up, saying, Wherefore dost thou prophesy, and say, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it;⁴ And Zedekiah king of Judah shall not escape out of the hand of the Chaldeans, but shall surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and shall speak with him mouth to mouth, and his eyes shall behold his eyes;⁵ And he shall lead Zedekiah to Babylon, and there shall he be until I visit him, saith the LORD: though ye fight with the Chaldeans, ye shall not prosper.⁶ And Jeremiah said, The word of the LORD came unto me, saying,⁷ Behold, Hanameel the son of Shallum thine uncle shall come unto thee saying, Buy thee my field that is in Anathoth: for the right of redemption is thine to buy it.⁸ So Hanameel mine uncle's son came to me in the court of the prison according to the word of the LORD, and said unto me, Buy my field, I pray thee, that is in Anathoth, which is in the country of Benjamin: for the right of inheritance is thine, and the redemption is thine; buy it for thyself. Then I knew that this was the word of the LORD.⁹ And I bought the field of Hanameel my uncle's son, that was in Anathoth, and weighed him the money, even seventeen shekels of silver.¹⁰ And I subscribed the evidence, and sealed it, and took witnesses, and weighed him the money in the balances.¹¹ So I took the evidence of the purchase, both that which was sealed according to the law and custom, and that which was open:¹² And I gave the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, the son of Maaseiah, in the sight of Hanameel mine uncle's son, and in the presence of the witnesses that subscribed the book of the purchase, before all the Jews that sat in the court of the prison.¹³ And I charged Baruch before them, saying,¹⁴ Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Take these evidences, this evidence of the purchase, both which is sealed, and this evidence which is open; and put them in an earthen vessel, that they may continue many days.¹⁵ For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land.¹⁶ Now when I had delivered the evidence of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto the LORD, saying,¹⁷ Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:¹⁸ Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name,¹⁹ Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:²⁰ Which hast set signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, even unto this day, and in Israel, and among other men; and hast made thee a name, as at this day;²¹ And hast brought forth thy people Israel out of the land of Egypt with signs, and with wonders, and with a strong hand, and with a stretched out arm, and with great terror;²² And hast given them this land, which thou didst swear to their fathers to give them, a land flowing with milk and honey;²³ And they came in, and possessed it; but they obeyed not thy voice, neither walked in thy law; they have done nothing of all that thou commandedst them to do: therefore thou hast caused all this evil to come upon them:²⁴ Behold the mounts, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans, that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence: and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it.²⁵ And thou hast said unto me, O Lord GOD, Buy thee the field for money, and take witnesses; for the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.²⁶ Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,²⁷ Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?²⁸ Therefore thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will give this city into the hand of the Chaldeans, and into the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, and he shall take it:²⁹ And the Chaldeans, that fight against this city, shall come and set fire on this city, and burn it with the houses, upon whose roofs they have offered incense unto Baal, and poured out drink offerings unto other gods, to provoke me to anger.³⁰ For the children of Israel and the children of Judah have only done evil before me from their youth: for the children of Israel have only provoked me to anger with the work of their hands, saith the LORD.³¹ For this city hath been to me as a provocation of mine anger and of my fury from the day that they built it even unto this day; that I should remove it from before my face,³² Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets, and the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem.³³ And they have turned unto me the back, and not the face: though I taught them, rising up early and teaching them, yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction.³⁴ But they set their abominations in the house, which is called by my name, to defile it.³⁵ And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin.³⁶ And now therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning this city, whereof ye say, It shall be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon by the sword, and by the famine, and by the pestilence;³⁷ Behold, I will gather them out of all countries, whither I have driven them in mine anger, and in my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:³⁸ And they shall be my people, and I will be their God:³⁹ And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them:⁴⁰ And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.⁴¹ Yea, I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.⁴² For thus saith the LORD; Like as I have brought all this great evil upon this people, so will I bring upon them all the good that I have promised them.⁴³ And fields shall be bought in this land, whereof ye say, It is desolate without man or beast; it is given into the hand of the Chaldeans.⁴⁴ Men shall buy fields for money, and subscribe evidences, and seal them, and take witnesses in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, and in the cities of the mountains, and in the cities of the valley, and in the cities of the south: for I will cause their captivity to return, saith the LORD.

¹ And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him.² And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?³ Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.⁴ But Jesus, said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.⁵ And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.⁶ And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.⁷ And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits;⁸ And commanded them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no money in their purse:⁹ But be shod with sandals; and not put on two coats.¹⁰ And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.¹¹ And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city.¹² And they went out, and preached that men should repent.¹³ And they cast out many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, and healed them.¹⁴ And king Herod heard of him; (for his name was spread abroad:) and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth themselves in him.¹⁵ Others said, That it is Elias. And others said, That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets.¹⁶ But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.¹⁷ For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife: for he had married her.¹⁸ For John had said unto Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife.¹⁹ Therefore Herodias had a quarrel against him, and would have killed him; but she could not:²⁰ For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.²¹ And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee;²² And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee.²³ And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.²⁴ And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist.²⁵ And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist.²⁶ And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her.²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison,²⁸ And brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother.²⁹ And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.³⁰ And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.³¹ And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.³² And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.³³ And the people saw them departing, and many knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.³⁴ And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them many things.³⁵ And when the day was now far spent, his disciples came unto him, and said, This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed:³⁶ Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat.³⁷ He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat?³⁸ He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes.³⁹ And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass.⁴⁰ And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties.⁴¹ And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all.⁴² And they did all eat, and were filled.⁴³ And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes.⁴⁴ And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men.⁴⁵ And straightway he constrained his disciples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side before unto Bethsaida, while he sent away the people.⁴⁶ And when he had sent them away, he departed into a mountain to pray.⁴⁷ And when even was come, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he alone on the land.⁴⁸ And he saw them toiling in rowing; for the wind was contrary unto them: and about the fourth watch of the night he cometh unto them, walking upon the sea, and would have passed by them.⁴⁹ But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:⁵⁰ For they all saw him, and were troubled. And immediately he talked with them, and saith unto them, Be of good cheer: it is I; be not afraid.⁵¹ And he went up unto them into the ship; and the wind ceased: and they were sore amazed in themselves beyond measure, and wondered.⁵² For they considered not the miracle of the loaves: for their heart was hardened.⁵³ And when they had passed over, they came into the land of Gennesaret, and drew to the shore.⁵⁴ And when they were come out of the ship, straightway they knew him,⁵⁵ And ran through that whole region round about, and began to carry about in beds those that were sick, where they heard he was.⁵⁶ And whithersoever he entered, into villages, or cities, or country, they laid the sick in the streets, and besought him that they might touch if it were but the border of his garment: and as many as touched him were made whole.