26th April

¹ These are the statutes and judgments, which ye shall observe to do in the land, which the LORD God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it, all the days that ye live upon the earth.² Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:³ And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire; and ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place.⁴ Ye shall not do so unto the LORD your God.⁵ But unto the place which the LORD your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there, even unto his habitation shall ye seek, and thither thou shalt come:⁶ And thither ye shall bring your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, and your tithes, and heave offerings of your hand, and your vows, and your freewill offerings, and the firstlings of your herds and of your flocks:⁷ And there ye shall eat before the LORD your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the LORD thy God hath blessed thee.⁸ Ye shall not do after all the things that we do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own eyes.⁹ For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.¹⁰ But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;¹¹ Then there shall be a place which the LORD your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the LORD:¹² And ye shall rejoice before the LORD your God, ye, and your sons, and your daughters, and your menservants, and your maidservants, and the Levite that is within your gates; forasmuch as he hath no part nor inheritance with you.¹³ Take heed to thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every place that thou seest:¹⁴ But in the place which the LORD shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that I command thee.¹⁵ Notwithstanding thou mayest kill and eat flesh in all thy gates, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which he hath given thee: the unclean and the clean may eat thereof, as of the roebuck, and as of the hart.¹⁶ Only ye shall not eat the blood; ye shall pour it upon the earth as water.¹⁷ Thou mayest not eat within thy gates the tithe of thy corn, or of thy wine, or of thy oil, or the firstlings of thy herds or of thy flock, nor any of thy vows which thou vowest, nor thy freewill offerings, or heave offering of thine hand:¹⁸ But thou must eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates: and thou shalt rejoice before the LORD thy God in all that thou puttest thine hands unto.¹⁹ Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.²⁰ When the LORD thy God shall enlarge thy border, as he hath promised thee, and thou shalt say, I will eat flesh, because thy soul longeth to eat flesh; thou mayest eat flesh, whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.²¹ If the place which the LORD thy God hath chosen to put his name there be too far from thee, then thou shalt kill of thy herd and of thy flock, which the LORD hath given thee, as I have commanded thee, and thou shalt eat in thy gates whatsoever thy soul lusteth after.²² Even as the roebuck and the hart is eaten, so thou shalt eat them: the unclean and the clean shall eat of them alike.²³ Only be sure that thou eat not the blood: for the blood is the life; and thou mayest not eat the life with the flesh.²⁴ Thou shalt not eat it; thou shalt pour it upon the earth as water.²⁵ Thou shalt not eat it; that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, when thou shalt do that which is right in the sight of the LORD.²⁶ Only thy holy things which thou hast, and thy vows, thou shalt take, and go unto the place which the LORD shall choose:²⁷ And thou shalt offer thy burnt offerings, the flesh and the blood, upon the altar of the LORD thy God: and the blood of thy sacrifices shall be poured out upon the altar of the LORD thy God, and thou shalt eat the flesh.²⁸ Observe and hear all these words which I command thee, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee for ever, when thou doest that which is good and right in the sight of the LORD thy God.²⁹ When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;³⁰ Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.³¹ Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.³² What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

¹ Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.² Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few.³ For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.⁴ When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.⁵ Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.⁶ Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?⁷ For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.⁸ If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for he that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they.⁹ Moreover the profit of the earth is for all: the king himself is served by the field.¹⁰ He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.¹¹ When goods increase, they are increased that eat them: and what good is there to the owners thereof, saving the beholding of them with their eyes?¹² The sleep of a labouring man is sweet, whether he eat little or much: but the abundance of the rich will not suffer him to sleep.¹³ There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt.¹⁴ But those riches perish by evil travail: and he begetteth a son, and there is nothing in his hand.¹⁵ As he came forth of his mother's womb, naked shall he return to go as he came, and shall take nothing of his labour, which he may carry away in his hand.¹⁶ And this also is a sore evil, that in all points as he came, so shall he go: and what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind?¹⁷ All his days also he eateth in darkness, and he hath much sorrow and wrath with his sickness.¹⁸ Behold that which I have seen: it is good and comely for one to eat and to drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labour that he taketh under the sun all the days of his life, which God giveth him: for it is his portion.¹⁹ Every man also to whom God hath given riches and wealth, and hath given him power to eat thereof, and to take his portion, and to rejoice in his labour; this is the gift of God.²⁰ For he shall not much remember the days of his life; because God answereth him in the joy of his heart.

¹ And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.² And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.³ And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.⁴ And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.⁵ And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven.⁶ Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language.⁷ And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which speak Galilaeans?⁸ And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?⁹ Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,¹⁰ Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,¹¹ Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God.¹² And they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?¹³ Others mocking said, These men are full of new wine.¹⁴ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:¹⁵ For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day.¹⁶ But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel;¹⁷ And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:¹⁸ And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy:¹⁹ And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and notable day of the Lord come:²¹ And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.²² Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:²³ Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:²⁴ Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it.²⁵ For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved:²⁶ Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:²⁷ Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.²⁸ Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.²⁹ Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.³⁰ Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;³¹ He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.³² This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.³³ Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.³⁴ For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand,³⁵ Until I make thy foes thy footstool.³⁶ Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made the same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?³⁸ Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.³⁹ For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.⁴⁰ And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.⁴¹ Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.⁴² And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.⁴³ And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.⁴⁴ And all that believed were together, and had all things common;⁴⁵ And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.⁴⁶ And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,⁴⁷ Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.