Daily Readings

¹ And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel,² And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,³ And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether, and to Gezer; and the goings out thereof are at the sea.⁴ So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.⁵ And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;⁶ And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;⁷ And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.⁸ The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.⁹ And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.¹⁰ And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.

¹ The burden of the valley of vision. What aileth thee now, that thou art wholly gone up to the housetops?² Thou that art full of stirs, a tumultuous city, joyous city: thy slain men are not slain with the sword, nor dead in battle.³ All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far.⁴ Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people.⁵ For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord GOD of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.⁶ And Elam bare the quiver with chariots of men and horsemen, and Kir uncovered the shield.⁷ And it shall come to pass, that thy choicest valleys shall be full of chariots, and the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.⁸ And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.⁹ Ye have seen also the breaches of the city of David, that they are many: and ye gathered together the waters of the lower pool.¹⁰ And ye have numbered the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses have ye broken down to fortify the wall.¹¹ Ye made also a ditch between the two walls for the water of the old pool: but ye have not looked unto the maker thereof, neither had respect unto him that fashioned it long ago.¹² And in that day did the Lord GOD of hosts call to weeping, and to mourning, and to baldness, and to girding with sackcloth:¹³ And behold joy and gladness, slaying oxen, and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine: let us eat and drink; for to morrow we shall die.¹⁴ And it was revealed in mine ears by the LORD of hosts, Surely this iniquity shall not be purged from you till ye die, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.¹⁵ Thus saith the Lord GOD of hosts, Go, get thee unto this treasurer, even unto Shebna, which is over the house, and say,¹⁶ What hast thou here? and whom hast thou here, that thou hast hewed thee out a sepulchre here, as he that heweth him out a sepulchre on high, and that graveth an habitation for himself in a rock?¹⁷ Behold, the LORD will carry thee away with a mighty captivity, and will surely cover thee.¹⁸ He will surely violently turn and toss thee like a ball into a large country: there shalt thou die, and there the chariots of thy glory shall be the shame of thy lord's house.¹⁹ And I will drive thee from thy station, and from thy state shall he pull thee down.²⁰ And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah:²¹ And I will clothe him with thy robe, and strengthen him with thy girdle, and I will commit thy government into his hand: and he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to the house of Judah.²² And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.²³ And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house.²⁴ And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons.²⁵ In that day, saith the LORD of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the LORD hath spoken it.

¹ God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,² Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;³ Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:⁴ Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.⁵ For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?⁶ And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.⁷ And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.⁸ But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.⁹ Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.¹⁰ And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thine hands:¹¹ They shall perish; but thou remainest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;¹² And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.¹³ But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?¹⁴ Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?

¹ Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.² For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward;³ How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;⁴ God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?⁵ For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak.⁶ But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him?⁷ Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honour, and didst set him over the works of thy hands:⁸ Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him.⁹ But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.¹⁰ For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.¹¹ For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,¹² Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.¹³ And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.¹⁴ Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;¹⁵ And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.¹⁶ For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.¹⁷ Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.¹⁸ For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.