21st September

¹ The sons of Judah; Pharez, Hezron, and Carmi, and Hur, and Shobal.² And Reaiah the son of Shobal begat Jahath; and Jahath begat Ahumai, and Lahad. These are the families of the Zorathites.³ And these were of the father of Etam; Jezreel, and Ishma, and Idbash: and the name of their sister was Hazelelponi:⁴ And Penuel the father of Gedor, and Ezer the father of Hushah. These are the sons of Hur, the firstborn of Ephratah, the father of Bethlehem.⁵ And Ashur the father of Tekoa had two wives, Helah and Naarah.⁶ And Naarah bare him Ahuzam, and Hepher, and Temeni, and Haahashtari. These were the sons of Naarah.⁷ And the sons of Helah were, Zereth, and Jezoar, and Ethnan.⁸ And Coz begat Anub, and Zobebah, and the families of Aharhel the son of Harum.⁹ And Jabez was more honourable than his brethren: and his mother called his name Jabez, saying, Because I bare him with sorrow.¹⁰ And Jabez called on the God of Israel, saying, Oh that thou wouldest bless me indeed, and enlarge my coast, and that thine hand might be with me, and that thou wouldest keep me from evil, that it may not grieve me! And God granted him that which he requested.¹¹ And Chelub the brother of Shuah begat Mehir, which was the father of Eshton.¹² And Eshton begat Bethrapha, and Paseah, and Tehinnah the father of Irnahash. These are the men of Rechah.¹³ And the sons of Kenaz; Othniel, and Seraiah: and the sons of Othniel; Hathath.¹⁴ And Meonothai begat Ophrah: and Seraiah begat Joab, the father of the valley of Charashim; for they were craftsmen.¹⁵ And the sons of Caleb the son of Jephunneh; Iru, Elah, and Naam: and the sons of Elah, even Kenaz.¹⁶ And the sons of Jehaleleel; Ziph, and Ziphah, Tiria, and Asareel.¹⁷ And the sons of Ezra were, Jether, and Mered, and Epher, and Jalon: and she bare Miriam, and Shammai, and Ishbah the father of Eshtemoa.¹⁸ And his wife Jehudijah bare Jered the father of Gedor, and Heber the father of Socho, and Jekuthiel the father of Zanoah. And these are the sons of Bithiah the daughter of Pharaoh, which Mered took.¹⁹ And the sons of his wife Hodiah the sister of Naham, the father of Keilah the Garmite, and Eshtemoa the Maachathite.²⁰ And the sons of Shimon were, Amnon, and Rinnah, Benhanan, and Tilon. And the sons of Ishi were, Zoheth, and Benzoheth.²¹ The sons of Shelah the son of Judah were, Er the father of Lecah, and Laadah the father of Mareshah, and the families of the house of them that wrought fine linen, of the house of Ashbea,²² And Jokim, and the men of Chozeba, and Joash, and Saraph, who had the dominion in Moab, and Jashubilehem. And these are ancient things.²³ These were the potters, and those that dwelt among plants and hedges: there they dwelt with the king for his work.²⁴ The sons of Simeon were, Nemuel, and Jamin, Jarib, Zerah, and Shaul:²⁵ Shallum his son, Mibsam his son, Mishma his son.²⁶ And the sons of Mishma; Hamuel his son, Zacchur his son, Shimei his son.²⁷ And Shimei had sixteen sons and six daughters: but his brethren had not many children, neither did all their family multiply, like to the children of Judah.²⁸ And they dwelt at Beersheba, and Moladah, and Hazarshual,²⁹ And at Bilhah, and at Ezem, and at Tolad,³⁰ And at Bethuel, and at Hormah, and at Ziklag,³¹ And at Bethmarcaboth, and Hazarsusim, and at Bethbirei, and at Shaaraim. These were their cities unto the reign of David.³² And their villages were, Etam, and Ain, Rimmon, and Tochen, and Ashan, five cities:³³ And all their villages that were round about the same cities, unto Baal. These were their habitations, and their genealogy.³⁴ And Meshobab, and Jamlech, and Joshah, the son of Amaziah,³⁵ And Joel, and Jehu the son of Josibiah, the son of Seraiah, the son of Asiel,³⁶ And Elioenai, and Jaakobah, and Jeshohaiah, and Asaiah, and Adiel, and Jesimiel, and Benaiah,³⁷ And Ziza the son of Shiphi, the son of Allon, the son of Jedaiah, the son of Shimri, the son of Shemaiah;³⁸ These mentioned by their names were princes in their families: and the house of their fathers increased greatly.³⁹ And they went to the entrance of Gedor, even unto the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks.⁴⁰ And they found fat pasture and good, and the land was wide, and quiet, and peaceable; for they of Ham had dwelt there of old.⁴¹ And these written by name came in the days of Hezekiah king of Judah, and smote their tents, and the habitations that were found there, and destroyed them utterly unto this day, and dwelt in their rooms: because there was pasture there for their flocks.⁴² And some of them, even of the sons of Simeon, five hundred men, went to mount Seir, having for their captains Pelatiah, and Neariah, and Rephaiah, and Uzziel, the sons of Ishi.⁴³ And they smote the rest of the Amalekites that were escaped, and dwelt there unto this day.

¹ And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,² Son of man, put forth a riddle, and speak a parable unto the house of Israel;³ And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; A great eagle with great wings, longwinged, full of feathers, which had divers colours, came unto Lebanon, and took the highest branch of the cedar:⁴ He cropped off the top of his young twigs, and carried it into a land of traffick; he set it in a city of merchants.⁵ He took also of the seed of the land, and planted it in a fruitful field; he placed it by great waters, and set it as a willow tree.⁶ And it grew, and became a spreading vine of low stature, whose branches turned toward him, and the roots thereof were under him: so it became a vine, and brought forth branches, and shot forth sprigs.⁷ There was also another great eagle with great wings and many feathers: and, behold, this vine did bend her roots toward him, and shot forth her branches toward him, that he might water it by the furrows of her plantation.⁸ It was planted in a good soil by great waters, that it might bring forth branches, and that it might bear fruit, that it might be a goodly vine.⁹ Say thou, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Shall it prosper? shall he not pull up the roots thereof, and cut off the fruit thereof, that it wither? it shall wither in all the leaves of her spring, even without great power or many people to pluck it up by the roots thereof.¹⁰ Yea, behold, being planted, shall it prosper? shall it not utterly wither, when the east wind toucheth it? it shall wither in the furrows where it grew.¹¹ Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,¹² Say now to the rebellious house, Know ye not what these things mean? tell them, Behold, the king of Babylon is come to Jerusalem, and hath taken the king thereof, and the princes thereof, and led them with him to Babylon;¹³ And hath taken of the king's seed, and made a covenant with him, and hath taken an oath of him: he hath also taken the mighty of the land:¹⁴ That the kingdom might be base, that it might not lift itself up, but that by keeping of his covenant it might stand.¹⁵ But he rebelled against him in sending his ambassadors into Egypt, that they might give him horses and much people. Shall he prosper? shall he escape that doeth such things? or shall he break the covenant, and be delivered?¹⁶ As I live, saith the Lord GOD, surely in the place where the king dwelleth that made him king, whose oath he despised, and whose covenant he brake, even with him in the midst of Babylon he shall die.¹⁷ Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company make for him in the war, by casting up mounts, and building forts, to cut off many persons:¹⁸ Seeing he despised the oath by breaking the covenant, when, lo, he had given his hand, and hath done all these things, he shall not escape.¹⁹ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; As I live, surely mine oath that he hath despised, and my covenant that he hath broken, even it will I recompense upon his own head.²⁰ And I will spread my net upon him, and he shall be taken in my snare, and I will bring him to Babylon, and will plead with him there for his trespass that he hath trespassed against me.²¹ And all his fugitives with all his bands shall fall by the sword, and they that remain shall be scattered toward all winds: and ye shall know that I the LORD have spoken it.²² Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:²³ In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.²⁴ And all the trees of the field shall know that I the LORD have brought down the high tree, have exalted the low tree, have dried up the green tree, and have made the dry tree to flourish: I the LORD have spoken and have done it.

¹ There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.² And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?³ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.⁴ Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?⁵ I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.⁶ He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none.⁷ Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground?⁸ And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it:⁹ And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.¹⁰ And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath.¹¹ And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself.¹² And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity.¹³ And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.¹⁴ And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day.¹⁵ The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?¹⁶ And ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?¹⁷ And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.¹⁸ Then said he, Unto what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?¹⁹ It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and cast into his garden; and it grew, and waxed a great tree; and the fowls of the air lodged in the branches of it.²⁰ And again he said, Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God?²¹ It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.²² And he went through the cities and villages, teaching, and journeying toward Jerusalem.²³ Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,²⁴ Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.²⁵ When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:²⁶ Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.²⁷ But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity.²⁸ There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.²⁹ And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God.³⁰ And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.³¹ The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.³² And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.³³ Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.³⁴ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!³⁵ Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

¹ And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him.² And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy.³ And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?⁴ And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go;⁵ And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?⁶ And they could not answer him again to these things.⁷ And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them,⁸ When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him;⁹ And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room.¹⁰ But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.¹¹ For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.¹² Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee.¹³ But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind:¹⁴ And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.¹⁵ And when one of them that sat at meat with him heard these things, he said unto him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God.¹⁶ Then said he unto him, A certain man made a great supper, and bade many:¹⁷ And sent his servant at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready.¹⁸ And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused.¹⁹ And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused.²⁰ And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.²¹ So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.²² And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.²³ And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.²⁴ For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.²⁵ And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,²⁶ If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.²⁷ And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.²⁸ For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?²⁹ Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,³⁰ Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish.³¹ Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?³² Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.³³ So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.³⁴ Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned?³⁵ It is neither fit for the land, nor yet for the dunghill; but men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.