28th July

¹ Now Joab the son of Zeruiah perceived that the king's heart was toward Absalom.² And Joab sent to Tekoah, and fetched thence a wise woman, and said unto her, I pray thee, feign thyself to be a mourner, and put on now mourning apparel, and anoint not thyself with oil, but be as a woman that had a long time mourned for the dead:³ And come to the king, and speak on this manner unto him. So Joab put the words in her mouth.⁴ And when the woman of Tekoah spake to the king, she fell on her face to the ground, and did obeisance, and said, Help, O king.⁵ And the king said unto her, What aileth thee? And she answered, I am indeed a widow woman, and mine husband is dead.⁶ And thy handmaid had two sons, and they two strove together in the field, and there was none to part them, but the one smote the other, and slew him.⁷ And, behold, the whole family is risen against thine handmaid, and they said, Deliver him that smote his brother, that we may kill him, for the life of his brother whom he slew; and we will destroy the heir also: and so they shall quench my coal which is left, and shall not leave to my husband neither name nor remainder upon the earth.⁸ And the king said unto the woman, Go to thine house, and I will give charge concerning thee.⁹ And the woman of Tekoah said unto the king, My lord, O king, the iniquity be on me, and on my father's house: and the king and his throne be guiltless.¹⁰ And the king said, Whoever saith ought unto thee, bring him to me, and he shall not touch thee any more.¹¹ Then said she, I pray thee, let the king remember the LORD thy God, that thou wouldest not suffer the revengers of blood to destroy any more, lest they destroy my son. And he said, As the LORD liveth, there shall not one hair of thy son fall to the earth.¹² Then the woman said, Let thine handmaid, I pray thee, speak one word unto my lord the king. And he said, Say on.¹³ And the woman said, Wherefore then hast thou thought such a thing against the people of God? for the king doth speak this thing as one which is faulty, in that the king doth not fetch home again his banished.¹⁴ For we must needs die, and are as water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again; neither doth God respect any person: yet doth he devise means, that his banished be not expelled from him.¹⁵ Now therefore that I am come to speak of this thing unto my lord the king, it is because the people have made me afraid: and thy handmaid said, I will now speak unto the king; it may be that the king will perform the request of his handmaid.¹⁶ For the king will hear, to deliver his handmaid out of the hand of the man that would destroy me and my son together out of the inheritance of God.¹⁷ Then thine handmaid said, The word of my lord the king shall now be comfortable: for as an angel of God, so is my lord the king to discern good and bad: therefore the LORD thy God will be with thee.¹⁸ Then the king answered and said unto the woman, Hide not from me, I pray thee, the thing that I shall ask thee. And the woman said, Let my lord the king now speak.¹⁹ And the king said, Is not the hand of Joab with thee in all this? And the woman answered and said, As thy soul liveth, my lord the king, none can turn to the right hand or to the left from ought that my lord the king hath spoken: for thy servant Joab, he bade me, and he put all these words in the mouth of thine handmaid:²⁰ To fetch about this form of speech hath thy servant Joab done this thing: and my lord is wise, according to the wisdom of an angel of God, to know all things that are in the earth.²¹ And the king said unto Joab, Behold now, I have done this thing: go therefore, bring the young man Absalom again.²² And Joab fell to the ground on his face, and bowed himself, and thanked the king: and Joab said, To day thy servant knoweth that I have found grace in thy sight, my lord, O king, in that the king hath fulfilled the request of his servant.²³ So Joab arose and went to Geshur, and brought Absalom to Jerusalem.²⁴ And the king said, Let him turn to his own house, and let him not see my face. So Absalom returned to his own house, and saw not the king's face.²⁵ But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him.²⁶ And when he polled his head, (for it was at every year's end that he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore he polled it:) he weighed the hair of his head at two hundred shekels after the king's weight.²⁷ And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a fair countenance.²⁸ So Absalom dwelt two full years in Jerusalem, and saw not the king's face.²⁹ Therefore Absalom sent for Joab, to have sent him to the king; but he would not come to him: and when he sent again the second time, he would not come.³⁰ Therefore he said unto his servants, See, Joab's field is near mine, and he hath barley there; go and set it on fire. And Absalom's servants set the field on fire.³¹ Then Joab arose, and came to Absalom unto his house, and said unto him, Wherefore have thy servants set my field on fire?³² And Absalom answered Joab, Behold, I sent unto thee, saying, Come hither, that I may send thee to the king, to say, Wherefore am I come from Geshur? it had been good for me to have been there still: now therefore let me see the king's face; and if there be any iniquity in me, let him kill me.³³ So Joab came to the king, and told him: and when he had called for Absalom, he came to the king, and bowed himself on his face to the ground before the king: and the king kissed Absalom.

¹ The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,² Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.³ Then I went down to the potter's house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels.⁴ And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.⁵ Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying,⁶ O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel.⁷ At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;⁸ If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.⁹ And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it;¹⁰ If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.¹¹ Now therefore go to, speak to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.¹² And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.¹³ Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.¹⁴ Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?¹⁵ Because my people hath forgotten me, they have burned incense to vanity, and they have caused them to stumble in their ways from the ancient paths, to walk in paths, in a way not cast up;¹⁶ To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.¹⁷ I will scatter them as with an east wind before the enemy; I will shew them the back, and not the face, in the day of their calamity.¹⁸ Then said they, Come and let us devise devices against Jeremiah; for the law shall not perish from the priest, nor counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophet. Come, and let us smite him with the tongue, and let us not give heed to any of his words.¹⁹ Give heed to me, O LORD, and hearken to the voice of them that contend with me.²⁰ Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.²¹ Therefore deliver up their children to the famine, and pour out their blood by the force of the sword; and let their wives be bereaved of their children, and be widows; and let their men be put to death; let their young men be slain by the sword in battle.²² Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.²³ Yet, LORD, thou knowest all their counsel against me to slay me: forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight, but let them be overthrown before thee; deal thus with them in the time of thine anger.

¹ Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,² (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,)³ Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh;⁴ And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:⁵ By whom we have received grace and apostleship, for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name:⁶ Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus Christ:⁷ To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.⁸ First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world.⁹ For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers;¹⁰ Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you.¹¹ For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;¹² That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.¹³ Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.¹⁴ I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.¹⁵ So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.¹⁶ For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.¹⁷ For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.¹⁸ For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;¹⁹ Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.²⁰ For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:²¹ Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.²² Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,²³ And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.²⁴ Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:²⁵ Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.²⁶ For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:²⁷ And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.²⁸ And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;²⁹ Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,³⁰ Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,³¹ Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:³² Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

¹ Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.² But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.³ And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?⁴ Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?⁵ But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;⁶ Who will render to every man according to his deeds:⁷ To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:⁸ But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,⁹ Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile;¹⁰ But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile:¹¹ For there is no respect of persons with God.¹² For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;¹³ (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified.¹⁴ For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:¹⁵ Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)¹⁶ In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.¹⁷ Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,¹⁸ And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;¹⁹ And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,²⁰ An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.²¹ Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?²² Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?²³ Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?²⁴ For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.²⁵ For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision.²⁶ Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?²⁷ And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law?²⁸ For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:²⁹ But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.