7th January

¹ And Abram went up out of Egypt, he, and his wife, and all that he had, and Lot with him, into the south.² And Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold.³ And he went on his journeys from the south even to Bethel, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Hai;⁴ Unto the place of the altar, which he had make there at the first: and there Abram called on the name of the LORD.⁵ And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, and herds, and tents.⁶ And the land was not able to bear them, that they might dwell together: for their substance was great, so that they could not dwell together.⁷ And there was a strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle: and the Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land.⁸ And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen; for we be brethren.⁹ Is not the whole land before thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.¹⁰ And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar.¹¹ Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other.¹² Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom.¹³ But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly.¹⁴ And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:¹⁵ For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever.¹⁶ And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.¹⁷ Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee.¹⁸ Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.

¹ And it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of nations;² That these made war with Bera king of Sodom, and with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, and Shemeber king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela, which is Zoar.³ All these were joined together in the vale of Siddim, which is the salt sea.⁴ Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in the thirteenth year they rebelled.⁵ And in the fourteenth year came Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote the Rephaims in Ashteroth Karnaim, and the Zuzims in Ham, and the Emins in Shaveh Kiriathaim,⁶ And the Horites in their mount Seir, unto Elparan, which is by the wilderness.⁷ And they returned, and came to Enmishpat, which is Kadesh, and smote all the country of the Amalekites, and also the Amorites, that dwelt in Hazezontamar.⁸ And there went out the king of Sodom, and the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king of Zeboiim, and the king of Bela (the same is Zoar;) and they joined battle with them in the vale of Siddim;⁹ With Chedorlaomer the king of Elam, and with Tidal king of nations, and Amraphel king of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar; four kings with five.¹⁰ And the vale of Siddim was full of slimepits; and the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, and fell there; and they that remained fled to the mountain.¹¹ And they took all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and went their way.¹² And they took Lot, Abram's brother's son, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed.¹³ And there came one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew; for he dwelt in the plain of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshcol, and brother of Aner: and these were confederate with Abram.¹⁴ And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan.¹⁵ And he divided himself against them, he and his servants, by night, and smote them, and pursued them unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus.¹⁶ And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.¹⁷ And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.¹⁸ And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.¹⁹ And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:²⁰ And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.²¹ And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself.²² And Abram said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up mine hand unto the LORD, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth,²³ That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:²⁴ Save only that which the young men have eaten, and the portion of the men which went with me, Aner, Eshcol, and Mamre; let them take their portion.

¹ Hear the right, O LORD, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.² Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.³ Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.⁴ Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.⁵ Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.⁶ I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.⁷ Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.⁸ Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,⁹ From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.¹⁰ They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.¹¹ They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;¹² Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.¹³ Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:¹⁴ From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.¹⁵ As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.

¹ And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city.² And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.³ And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.⁴ And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?⁵ For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?⁶ But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.⁷ And he arose, and departed to his house.⁸ But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.⁹ And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.¹⁰ And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.¹¹ And when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto his disciples, Why eateth your Master with publicans and sinners?¹² But when Jesus heard that, he said unto them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.¹³ But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.¹⁴ Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?¹⁵ And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.¹⁶ No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.¹⁷ Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.¹⁸ While he spake these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.¹⁹ And Jesus arose, and followed him, and so did his disciples.²⁰ And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:²¹ For she said within herself, If I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.²² But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.²³ And when Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise,²⁴ He said unto them, Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn.²⁵ But when the people were put forth, he went in, and took her by the hand, and the maid arose.²⁶ And the fame hereof went abroad into all that land.²⁷ And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying, and saying, Thou son of David, have mercy on us.²⁸ And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.²⁹ Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.³⁰ And their eyes were opened; and Jesus straitly charged them, saying, See that no man know it.³¹ But they, when they were departed, spread abroad his fame in all that country.³² As they went out, behold, they brought to him a dumb man possessed with a devil.³³ And when the devil was cast out, the dumb spake: and the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.³⁴ But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.³⁵ And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people.³⁶ But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.³⁷ Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;³⁸ Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.