21st April

¹ Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.² Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you.³ Your eyes have seen what the LORD did because of Baalpeor: for all the men that followed Baalpeor, the LORD thy God hath destroyed them from among you.⁴ But ye that did cleave unto the LORD your God are alive every one of you this day.⁵ Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.⁶ Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.⁷ For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is in all things that we call upon him for?⁸ And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day?⁹ Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons;¹⁰ Specially the day that thou stoodest before the LORD thy God in Horeb, when the LORD said unto me, Gather me the people together, and I will make them hear my words, that they may learn to fear me all the days that they shall live upon the earth, and that they may teach their children.¹¹ And ye came near and stood under the mountain; and the mountain burned with fire unto the midst of heaven, with darkness, clouds, and thick darkness.¹² And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.¹³ And he declared unto you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of stone.¹⁴ And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over to possess it.¹⁵ Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire:¹⁶ Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female,¹⁷ The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air,¹⁸ The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth:¹⁹ And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.²⁰ But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.²¹ Furthermore the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, and sware that I should not go over Jordan, and that I should not go in unto that good land, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance:²² But I must die in this land, I must not go over Jordan: but ye shall go over, and possess that good land.²³ Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.²⁴ For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.²⁵ When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:²⁶ I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.²⁷ And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you.²⁸ And there ye shall serve gods, the work of men's hands, wood and stone, which neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell.²⁹ But if from thence thou shalt seek the LORD thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.³⁰ When thou art in tribulation, and all these things are come upon thee, even in the latter days, if thou turn to the LORD thy God, and shalt be obedient unto his voice;³¹ (For the LORD thy God is a merciful God;) he will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant of thy fathers which he sware unto them.³² For ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee, since the day that God created man upon the earth, and ask from the one side of heaven unto the other, whether there hath been any such thing as this great thing is, or hath been heard like it?³³ Did ever people hear the voice of God speaking out of the midst of the fire, as thou hast heard, and live?³⁴ Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes?³⁵ Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.³⁶ Out of heaven he made thee to hear his voice, that he might instruct thee: and upon earth he shewed thee his great fire; and thou heardest his words out of the midst of the fire.³⁷ And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;³⁸ To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day.³⁹ Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.⁴⁰ Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the LORD thy God giveth thee, for ever.⁴¹ Then Moses severed three cities on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;⁴² That the slayer might flee thither, which should kill his neighbour unawares, and hated him not in times past; and that fleeing unto one of these cities he might live:⁴³ Namely, Bezer in the wilderness, in the plain country, of the Reubenites; and Ramoth in Gilead, of the Gadites; and Golan in Bashan, of the Manassites.⁴⁴ And this is the law which Moses set before the children of Israel:⁴⁵ These are the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which Moses spake unto the children of Israel, after they came forth out of Egypt.⁴⁶ On this side Jordan, in the valley over against Bethpeor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, whom Moses and the children of Israel smote, after they were come forth out of Egypt:⁴⁷ And they possessed his land, and the land of Og king of Bashan, two kings of the Amorites, which were on this side Jordan toward the sunrising;⁴⁸ From Aroer, which is by the bank of the river Arnon, even unto mount Sion, which is Hermon,⁴⁹ And all the plain on this side Jordan eastward, even unto the sea of the plain, under the springs of Pisgah.

¹ The words of king Lemuel, the prophecy that his mother taught him.² What, my son? and what, the son of my womb? and what, the son of my vows?³ Give not thy strength unto women, nor thy ways to that which destroyeth kings.⁴ It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink:⁵ Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted.⁶ Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.⁷ Let him drink, and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more.⁸ Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction.⁹ Open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.¹⁰ Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.¹¹ The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.¹² She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.¹³ She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.¹⁴ She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.¹⁵ She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.¹⁶ She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.¹⁷ She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.¹⁸ She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.¹⁹ She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.²⁰ She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.²¹ She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.²² She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.²³ Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.²⁴ She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.²⁵ Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.²⁶ She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.²⁷ She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.²⁸ Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.²⁹ Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.³⁰ Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

¹ I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.² Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.³ Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.⁶ If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.⁷ If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.⁸ Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.⁹ As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.¹⁰ If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.¹¹ These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.¹² This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.¹⁴ Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.¹⁵ Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.¹⁶ Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.¹⁷ These things I command you, that ye love one another.¹⁸ If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.¹⁹ If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.²⁰ Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.²¹ But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.²² If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.²³ He that hateth me hateth my Father also.²⁴ If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.²⁵ But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.²⁶ But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:²⁷ And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

¹ These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.² They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.³ And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.⁴ But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.⁵ But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou?⁶ But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.⁷ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.⁸ And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:⁹ Of sin, because they believe not on me;¹⁰ Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;¹¹ Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.¹² I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.¹³ Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.¹⁴ He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.¹⁵ All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.¹⁶ A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.¹⁷ Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?¹⁸ They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.¹⁹ Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?²⁰ Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.²¹ A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.²² And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.²³ And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.²⁴ Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.²⁵ These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father.²⁶ At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you:²⁷ For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.²⁸ I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father.²⁹ His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb.³⁰ Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.³¹ Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?³² Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.³³ These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.