Daily Readings

¹ The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying,² Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses:³ That the slayer that killeth any person unawares and unwittingly may flee thither: and they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood.⁴ And when he that doth flee unto one of those cities shall stand at the entering of the gate of the city, and shall declare his cause in the ears of the elders of that city, they shall take him into the city unto them, and give him a place, that he may dwell among them.⁵ And if the avenger of blood pursue after him, then they shall not deliver the slayer up into his hand; because he smote his neighbour unwittingly, and hated him not beforetime.⁶ And he shall dwell in that city, until he stand before the congregation for judgment, and until the death of the high priest that shall be in those days: then shall the slayer return, and come unto his own city, and unto his own house, unto the city from whence he fled.⁷ And they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah.⁸ And on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh.⁹ These were the cities appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them, that whosoever killeth any person at unawares might flee thither, and not die by the hand of the avenger of blood, until he stood before the congregation.

¹ Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel;² And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the land of Canaan, saying, The LORD commanded by the hand of Moses to give us cities to dwell in, with the suburbs thereof for our cattle.³ And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs.⁴ And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites: and the children of Aaron the priest, which were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of Simeon, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.⁵ And the rest of the children of Kohath had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Ephraim, and out of the tribe of Dan, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh, ten cities.⁶ And the children of Gershon had by lot out of the families of the tribe of Issachar, and out of the tribe of Asher, and out of the tribe of Naphtali, and out of the half tribe of Manasseh in Bashan, thirteen cities.⁷ The children of Merari by their families had out of the tribe of Reuben, and out of the tribe of Gad, and out of the tribe of Zebulun, twelve cities.⁸ And the children of Israel gave by lot unto the Levites these cities with their suburbs, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.⁹ And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name.¹⁰ Which the children of Aaron, being of the families of the Kohathites, who were of the children of Levi, had: for theirs was the first lot.¹¹ And they gave them the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron, in the hill country of Judah, with the suburbs thereof round about it.¹² But the fields of the city, and the villages thereof, gave they to Caleb the son of Jephunneh for his possession.¹³ Thus they gave to the children of Aaron the priest Hebron with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Libnah with her suburbs,¹⁴ And Jattir with her suburbs, and Eshtemoa with her suburbs,¹⁵ And Holon with her suburbs, and Debir with her suburbs,¹⁶ And Ain with her suburbs, and Juttah with her suburbs, and Bethshemesh with her suburbs; nine cities out of those two tribes.¹⁷ And out of the tribe of Benjamin, Gibeon with her suburbs, Geba with her suburbs,¹⁸ Anathoth with her suburbs, and Almon with her suburbs; four cities.¹⁹ All the cities of the children of Aaron, the priests, were thirteen cities with their suburbs.²⁰ And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites which remained of the children of Kohath, even they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.²¹ For they gave them Shechem with her suburbs in mount Ephraim, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Gezer with her suburbs,²² And Kibzaim with her suburbs, and Bethhoron with her suburbs; four cities.²³ And out of the tribe of Dan, Eltekeh with her suburbs, Gibbethon with her suburbs,²⁴ Aijalon with her suburbs, Gathrimmon with her suburbs; four cities.²⁵ And out of the half tribe of Manasseh, Tanach with her suburbs, and Gathrimmon with her suburbs; two cities.²⁶ All the cities were ten with their suburbs for the families of the children of Kohath that remained.²⁷ And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the other half tribe of Manasseh they gave Golan in Bashan with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Beeshterah with her suburbs; two cities.²⁸ And out of the tribe of Issachar, Kishon with her suburbs, Dabareh with her suburbs,²⁹ Jarmuth with her suburbs, Engannim with her suburbs; four cities.³⁰ And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with her suburbs, Abdon with her suburbs,³¹ Helkath with her suburbs, and Rehob with her suburbs; four cities.³² And out of the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Hammothdor with her suburbs, and Kartan with her suburbs; three cities.³³ All the cities of the Gershonites according to their families were thirteen cities with their suburbs.³⁴ And unto the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, out of the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with her suburbs, and Kartah with her suburbs,³⁵ Dimnah with her suburbs, Nahalal with her suburbs; four cities.³⁶ And out of the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with her suburbs, and Jahazah with her suburbs,³⁷ Kedemoth with her suburbs, and Mephaath with her suburbs; four cities.³⁸ And out of the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with her suburbs, to be a city of refuge for the slayer; and Mahanaim with her suburbs,³⁹ Heshbon with her suburbs, Jazer with her suburbs; four cities in all.⁴⁰ So all the cities for the children of Merari by their families, which were remaining of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.⁴¹ All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty and eight cities with their suburbs.⁴² These cities were every one with their suburbs round about them: thus were all these cities.⁴³ And the LORD gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers; and they possessed it, and dwelt therein.⁴⁴ And the LORD gave them rest round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers: and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them; the LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand.⁴⁵ There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.

¹ In that day shall this song be sung in the land of Judah; We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks.² Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in.³ Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.⁴ Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:⁵ For he bringeth down them that dwell on high; the lofty city, he layeth it low; he layeth it low, even to the ground; he bringeth it even to the dust.⁶ The foot shall tread it down, even the feet of the poor, and the steps of the needy.⁷ The way of the just is uprightness: thou, most upright, dost weigh the path of the just.⁸ Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD, have we waited for thee; the desire of our soul is to thy name, and to the remembrance of thee.⁹ With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.¹⁰ Let favour be shewed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness: in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD.¹¹ LORD, when thy hand is lifted up, they will not see: but they shall see, and be ashamed for their envy at the people; yea, the fire of thine enemies shall devour them.¹² LORD, thou wilt ordain peace for us: for thou also hast wrought all our works in us.¹³ O LORD our God, other lords beside thee have had dominion over us: but by thee only will we make mention of thy name.¹⁴ They are dead, they shall not live; they are deceased, they shall not rise: therefore hast thou visited and destroyed them, and made all their memory to perish.¹⁵ Thou hast increased the nation, O LORD, thou hast increased the nation: thou art glorified: thou hadst removed it far unto all the ends of the earth.¹⁶ LORD, in trouble have they visited thee, they poured out a prayer when thy chastening was upon them.¹⁷ Like as a woman with child, that draweth near the time of her delivery, is in pain, and crieth out in her pangs; so have we been in thy sight, O LORD.¹⁸ We have been with child, we have been in pain, we have as it were brought forth wind; we have not wrought any deliverance in the earth; neither have the inhabitants of the world fallen.¹⁹ Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.²⁰ Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.²¹ For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.

¹ In that day the LORD with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.² In that day sing ye unto her, A vineyard of red wine.³ I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.⁴ Fury is not in me: who would set the briers and thorns against me in battle? I would go through them, I would burn them together.⁵ Or let him take hold of my strength, that he may make peace with me; and he shall make peace with me.⁶ He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit.⁷ Hath he smitten him, as he smote those that smote him? or is he slain according to the slaughter of them that are slain by him?⁸ In measure, when it shooteth forth, thou wilt debate with it: he stayeth his rough wind in the day of the east wind.⁹ By this therefore shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged; and this is all the fruit to take away his sin; when he maketh all the stones of the altar as chalkstones that are beaten in sunder, the groves and images shall not stand up.¹⁰ Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.¹¹ When the boughs thereof are withered, they shall be broken off: the women come, and set them on fire: for it is a people of no understanding: therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will shew them no favour.¹² And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall beat off from the channel of the river unto the stream of Egypt, and ye shall be gathered one by one, O ye children of Israel.¹³ And it shall come to pass in that day, that the great trumpet shall be blown, and they shall come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.

¹ For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.³ But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.⁵ Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:⁶ In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.⁷ Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.⁸ Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;⁹ Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.¹⁰ By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.¹¹ And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:¹² But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;¹³ From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.¹⁴ For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.¹⁵ Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,¹⁶ This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;¹⁷ And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.¹⁸ Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.¹⁹ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,²⁰ By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;²¹ And having an high priest over the house of God;²² Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.²³ Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)²⁴ And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:²⁵ Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.²⁶ For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,²⁷ But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.²⁸ He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:²⁹ Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?³⁰ For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.³¹ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.³² But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions;³³ Partly, whilst ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used.³⁴ For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.³⁵ Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.³⁶ For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.³⁷ For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.³⁸ Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.³⁹ But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.