21st March

¹ And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,² Every man of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard, with the ensign of their father's house: far off about the tabernacle of the congregation shall they pitch.³ And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.⁴ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.⁵ And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar.⁶ And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.⁷ Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun.⁸ And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.⁹ All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.¹⁰ On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.¹¹ And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.¹² And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.¹³ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.¹⁴ Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.¹⁵ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.¹⁶ All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.¹⁷ Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.¹⁸ On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.¹⁹ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.²⁰ And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.²¹ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.²² Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.²³ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.²⁴ All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank.²⁵ The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.²⁶ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.²⁷ And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.²⁸ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.²⁹ Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan.³⁰ And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and three thousand and four hundred.³¹ All they that were numbered in the camp of Dan were an hundred thousand and fifty and seven thousand and six hundred. They shall go hindmost with their standards.³² These are those which were numbered of the children of Israel by the house of their fathers: all those that were numbered of the camps throughout their hosts were six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty.³³ But the Levites were not numbered among the children of Israel; as the LORD commanded Moses.³⁴ And the children of Israel did according to all that the LORD commanded Moses: so they pitched by their standards, and so they set forward, every one after their families, according to the house of their fathers.

¹ I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.² Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.³ Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.⁴ One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.⁵ I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.⁶ And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.⁷ They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.⁸ The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.⁹ The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.¹⁰ All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;¹² To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.¹³ Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.¹⁴ The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.¹⁵ The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.¹⁶ Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.¹⁷ The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.¹⁸ The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.¹⁹ He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.²⁰ The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.²¹ My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.

¹ Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul.² While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.³ Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.⁴ His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.⁵ Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:⁶ Which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever:⁷ Which executeth judgment for the oppressed: which giveth food to the hungry. The LORD looseth the prisoners:⁸ The LORD openeth the eyes of the blind: the LORD raiseth them that are bowed down: the LORD loveth the righteous:⁹ The LORD preserveth the strangers; he relieveth the fatherless and widow: but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down.¹⁰ The LORD shall reign for ever, even thy God, O Zion, unto all generations. Praise ye the LORD.

¹ Praise ye the LORD: for it is good to sing praises unto our God; for it is pleasant; and praise is comely.² The LORD doth build up Jerusalem: he gathereth together the outcasts of Israel.³ He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.⁴ He telleth the number of the stars; he calleth them all by their names.⁵ Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.⁶ The LORD lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.⁷ Sing unto the LORD with thanksgiving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:⁸ Who covereth the heaven with clouds, who prepareth rain for the earth, who maketh grass to grow upon the mountains.⁹ He giveth to the beast his food, and to the young ravens which cry.¹⁰ He delighteth not in the strength of the horse: he taketh not pleasure in the legs of a man.¹¹ The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy.¹² Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise thy God, O Zion.¹³ For he hath strengthened the bars of thy gates; he hath blessed thy children within thee.¹⁴ He maketh peace in thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest of the wheat.¹⁵ He sendeth forth his commandment upon earth: his word runneth very swiftly.¹⁶ He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoarfrost like ashes.¹⁷ He casteth forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his cold?¹⁸ He sendeth out his word, and melteth them: he causeth his wind to blow, and the waters flow.¹⁹ He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and his judgments unto Israel.²⁰ He hath not dealt so with any nation: and as for his judgments, they have not known them. Praise ye the LORD.

¹ In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.² For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.³ Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.⁴ And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.⁵ But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?⁷ But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.⁸ Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:⁹ But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.¹⁰ And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.¹¹ And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:¹² For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.¹³ And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.¹⁴ And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?¹⁵ And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.¹⁶ And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?¹⁸ And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.²⁰ But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?²¹ So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.²² And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.²³ The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.²⁴ Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?²⁵ And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?²⁶ If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?²⁷ Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.²⁸ If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?²⁹ And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.³⁰ For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.³¹ But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.³² Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.³³ Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.³⁵ Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;³⁶ And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.³⁷ Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.³⁸ And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.³⁹ And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.⁴⁰ Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.⁴¹ Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?⁴² And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?⁴³ Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.⁴⁴ Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.⁴⁵ But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;⁴⁶ The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.⁴⁷ And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.⁴⁸ But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.⁴⁹ I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled?⁵⁰ But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!⁵¹ Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:⁵² For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.⁵³ The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.⁵⁴ And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.⁵⁵ And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.⁵⁶ Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?⁵⁷ Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?⁵⁸ When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.⁵⁹ I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.