9th January

¹ And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.² And I will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly.³ And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,⁴ As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations.⁵ Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee.⁶ And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee.⁷ And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.⁸ And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.⁹ And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.¹⁰ This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.¹¹ And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you.¹² And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed.¹³ He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant.¹⁴ And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.¹⁵ And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be.¹⁶ And I will bless her, and give thee a son also of her: yea, I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people shall be of her.¹⁷ Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, bear?¹⁸ And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee!¹⁹ And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him.²⁰ And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.²¹ But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year.²² And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.²³ And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male among the men of Abraham's house; and circumcised the flesh of their foreskin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him.²⁴ And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.²⁵ And Ishmael his son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.²⁶ In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and Ishmael his son.²⁷ And all the men of his house, born in the house, and bought with money of the stranger, were circumcised with him.

¹ And the LORD appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre: and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day;² And he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground,³ And said, My LORD, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:⁴ Let a little water, I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree:⁵ And I will fetch a morsel of bread, and comfort ye your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore are ye come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.⁶ And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth.⁷ And Abraham ran unto the herd, and fetcht a calf tender and good, and gave it unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it.⁸ And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat.⁹ And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said, Behold, in the tent.¹⁰ And he said, I will certainly return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent door, which was behind him.¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.¹² Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?¹³ And the LORD said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?¹⁴ Is any thing too hard for the LORD? At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son.¹⁵ Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh.¹⁶ And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way.¹⁷ And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do;¹⁸ Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?¹⁹ For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.²⁰ And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous;²¹ I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know.²² And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.²³ And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked?²⁴ Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein?²⁵ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?²⁶ And the LORD said, If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.²⁷ And Abraham answered and said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD, which am but dust and ashes:²⁸ Peradventure there shall lack five of the fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? And he said, If I find there forty and five, I will not destroy it.²⁹ And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for forty's sake.³⁰ And he said unto him, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak: Peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there.³¹ And he said, Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the LORD: Peradventure there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for twenty's sake.³² And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake.³³ And the LORD went his way, as soon as he had left communing with Abraham: and Abraham returned unto his place.

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.² Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.³ There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.⁴ Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,⁵ Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.⁶ His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.⁷ The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.⁸ The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.⁹ The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.¹⁰ More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.¹¹ Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.¹² Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.¹³ Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.¹⁴ Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.

¹ The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee;² Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion;³ Remember all thy offerings, and accept thy burnt sacrifice; Selah.⁴ Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel.⁵ We will rejoice in thy salvation, and in the name of our God we will set up our banners: the LORD fulfil all thy petitions.⁶ Now know I that the LORD saveth his anointed; he will hear him from his holy heaven with the saving strength of his right hand.⁷ Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.⁸ They are brought down and fallen: but we are risen, and stand upright.⁹ Save, LORD: let the king hear us when we call.

¹ The king shall joy in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!² Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.³ For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.⁴ He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.⁵ His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.⁶ For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.⁷ For the king trusteth in the LORD, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.⁸ Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.⁹ Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the LORD shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.¹⁰ Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.¹¹ For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.¹² Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.¹³ Be thou exalted, LORD, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

¹ And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.² Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,³ And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?⁴ Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see:⁵ The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them.⁶ And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.⁷ And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?⁸ But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses.⁹ But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet.¹⁰ For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.¹¹ Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.¹² And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force.¹³ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.¹⁴ And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.¹⁵ He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.¹⁶ But whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows,¹⁷ And saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented.¹⁸ For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a devil.¹⁹ The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.²⁰ Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:²¹ Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.²² But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you.²³ And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.²⁴ But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.²⁵ At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.²⁶ Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.²⁷ All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.²⁸ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.