17th June

¹ And it came to pass in those days, when there was no king in Israel, that there was a certain Levite sojourning on the side of mount Ephraim, who took to him a concubine out of Bethlehemjudah.² And his concubine played the whore against him, and went away from him unto her father's house to Bethlehemjudah, and was there four whole months.³ And her husband arose, and went after her, to speak friendly unto her, and to bring her again, having his servant with him, and a couple of asses: and she brought him into her father's house: and when the father of the damsel saw him, he rejoiced to meet him.⁴ And his father in law, the damsel's father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.⁵ And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel's father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.⁶ And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel's father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.⁷ And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.⁸ And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart; and the damsel's father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.⁹ And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel's father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.¹⁰ But the man would not tarry that night, but he rose up and departed, and came over against Jebus, which is Jerusalem; and there were with him two asses saddled, his concubine also was with him.¹¹ And when they were by Jebus, the day was far spent; and the servant said unto his master, Come, I pray thee, and let us turn in into this city of the Jebusites, and lodge in it.¹² And his master said unto him, We will not turn aside hither into the city of a stranger, that is not of the children of Israel; we will pass over to Gibeah.¹³ And he said unto his servant, Come, and let us draw near to one of these places to lodge all night, in Gibeah, or in Ramah.¹⁴ And they passed on and went their way; and the sun went down upon them when they were by Gibeah, which belongeth to Benjamin.¹⁵ And they turned aside thither, to go in and to lodge in Gibeah: and when he went in, he sat him down in a street of the city: for there was no man that took them into his house to lodging.¹⁶ And, behold, there came an old man from his work out of the field at even, which was also of mount Ephraim; and he sojourned in Gibeah: but the men of the place were Benjamites.¹⁷ And when he had lifted up his eyes, he saw a wayfaring man in the street of the city: and the old man said, Whither goest thou? and whence comest thou?¹⁸ And he said unto him, We are passing from Bethlehemjudah toward the side of mount Ephraim; from thence am I: and I went to Bethlehemjudah, but I am now going to the house of the LORD; and there is no man that receiveth me to house.¹⁹ Yet there is both straw and provender for our asses; and there is bread and wine also for me, and for thy handmaid, and for the young man which is with thy servants: there is no want of any thing.²⁰ And the old man said, Peace be with thee; howsoever let all thy wants lie upon me; only lodge not in the street.²¹ So he brought him into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink.²² Now as they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, certain sons of Belial, beset the house round about, and beat at the door, and spake to the master of the house, the old man, saying, Bring forth the man that came into thine house, that we may know him.²³ And the man, the master of the house, went out unto them, and said unto them, Nay, my brethren, nay, I pray you, do not so wickedly; seeing that this man is come into mine house, do not this folly.²⁴ Behold, here is my daughter a maiden, and his concubine; them I will bring out now, and humble ye them, and do with them what seemeth good unto you: but unto this man do not so vile a thing.²⁵ But the men would not hearken to him: so the man took his concubine, and brought her forth unto them; and they knew her, and abused her all the night until the morning: and when the day began to spring, they let her go.²⁶ Then came the woman in the dawning of the day, and fell down at the door of the man's house where her lord was, till it was light.²⁷ And her lord rose up in the morning, and opened the doors of the house, and went out to go his way: and, behold, the woman his concubine was fallen down at the door of the house, and her hands were upon the threshold.²⁸ And he said unto her, Up, and let us be going. But none answered. Then the man took her up upon an ass, and the man rose up, and gat him unto his place.²⁹ And when he was come into his house, he took a knife, and laid hold on his concubine, and divided her, together with her bones, into twelve pieces, and sent her into all the coasts of Israel.³⁰ And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.

¹ Keep silence before me, O islands; and let the people renew their strength: let them come near; then let them speak: let us come near together to judgment.² Who raised up the righteous man from the east, called him to his foot, gave the nations before him, and made him rule over kings? he gave them as the dust to his sword, and as driven stubble to his bow.³ He pursued them, and passed safely; even by the way that he had not gone with his feet.⁴ Who hath wrought and done it, calling the generations from the beginning? I the LORD, the first, and with the last; I am he.⁵ The isles saw it, and feared; the ends of the earth were afraid, drew near, and came.⁶ They helped every one his neighbour; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage.⁷ So the carpenter encouraged the goldsmith, and he that smootheth with the hammer him that smote the anvil, saying, It is ready for the sodering: and he fastened it with nails, that it should not be moved.⁸ But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend.⁹ Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou art my servant; I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away.¹⁰ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.¹¹ Behold, all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish.¹² Thou shalt seek them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought.¹³ For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.¹⁴ Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.¹⁵ Behold, I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth: thou shalt thresh the mountains, and beat them small, and shalt make the hills as chaff.¹⁶ Thou shalt fan them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the whirlwind shall scatter them: and thou shalt rejoice in the LORD, and shalt glory in the Holy One of Israel.¹⁷ When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.¹⁸ I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.¹⁹ I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together:²⁰ That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.²¹ Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.²² Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.²³ Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.²⁴ Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.²⁵ I have raised up one from the north, and he shall come: from the rising of the sun shall he call upon my name: and he shall come upon princes as upon morter, and as the potter treadeth clay.²⁶ Who hath declared from the beginning, that we may know? and beforetime, that we may say, He is righteous? yea, there is none that sheweth, yea, there is none that declareth, yea, there is none that heareth your words.²⁷ The first shall say to Zion, Behold, behold them: and I will give to Jerusalem one that bringeth good tidings.²⁸ For I beheld, and there was no man; even among them, and there was no counsellor, that, when I asked of them, could answer a word.²⁹ Behold, they are all vanity; their works are nothing: their molten images are wind and confusion.

¹ Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.² Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.³ And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.⁴ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.⁵ And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.⁶ Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.⁷ Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.⁸ He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.⁹ Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.¹⁰ In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.¹¹ For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.¹² Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.¹³ Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.¹⁵ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.¹⁶ Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.¹⁷ But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?¹⁸ My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.¹⁹ And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.²⁰ For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.²¹ Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.²² And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.²³ And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.²⁴ And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

¹ Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.² Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:³ And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.⁴ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.⁵ They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.⁶ We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.⁷ Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.⁸ He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.⁹ In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.¹⁰ Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.¹¹ Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.¹² No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.¹³ Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.¹⁴ And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.¹⁵ Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.¹⁶ And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.¹⁷ Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.¹⁸ There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.¹⁹ We love him, because he first loved us.²⁰ If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?²¹ And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.