Daily Readings

¹ Now these were the sons of David, which were born unto him in Hebron; the firstborn Amnon, of Ahinoam the Jezreelitess; the second Daniel, of Abigail the Carmelitess:² The third, Absalom the son of Maachah the daughter of Talmai king of Geshur: the fourth, Adonijah the son of Haggith:³ The fifth, Shephatiah of Abital: the sixth, Ithream by Eglah his wife.⁴ These six were born unto him in Hebron; and there he reigned seven years and six months: and in Jerusalem he reigned thirty and three years.⁵ And these were born unto him in Jerusalem; Shimea, and Shobab, and Nathan, and Solomon, four, of Bathshua the daughter of Ammiel:⁶ Ibhar also, and Elishama, and Eliphelet,⁷ And Nogah, and Nepheg, and Japhia,⁸ And Elishama, and Eliada, and Eliphelet, nine.⁹ These were all the sons of David, beside the sons of the concubines, and Tamar their sister.¹⁰ And Solomon's son was Rehoboam, Abia his son, Asa his son, Jehoshaphat his son,¹¹ Joram his son, Ahaziah his son, Joash his son,¹² Amaziah his son, Azariah his son, Jotham his son,¹³ Ahaz his son, Hezekiah his son, Manasseh his son,¹⁴ Amon his son, Josiah his son.¹⁵ And the sons of Josiah were, the firstborn Johanan, the second Jehoiakim, the third Zedekiah, the fourth Shallum.¹⁶ And the sons of Jehoiakim: Jeconiah his son, Zedekiah his son.¹⁷ And the sons of Jeconiah; Assir, Salathiel his son,¹⁸ Malchiram also, and Pedaiah, and Shenazar, Jecamiah, Hoshama, and Nedabiah.¹⁹ And the sons of Pedaiah were, Zerubbabel, and Shimei: and the sons of Zerubbabel; Meshullam, and Hananiah, and Shelomith their sister:²⁰ And Hashubah, and Ohel, and Berechiah, and Hasadiah, Jushabhesed, five.²¹ And the sons of Hananiah; Pelatiah, and Jesaiah: the sons of Rephaiah, the sons of Arnan, the sons of Obadiah, the sons of Shechaniah.²² And the sons of Shechaniah; Shemaiah: and the sons of Shemaiah; Hattush, and Igeal, and Bariah, and Neariah, and Shaphat, six.²³ And the sons of Neariah; Elioenai, and Hezekiah, and Azrikam, three.²⁴ And the sons of Elioenai were, Hodaiah, and Eliashib, and Pelaiah, and Akkub, and Johanan, and Dalaiah, and Anani, seven.

¹ Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,² Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations,³ And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD unto Jerusalem; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan; thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite.⁴ And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.⁵ None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.⁶ And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.⁷ I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.⁸ Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine.⁹ Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.¹⁰ I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.¹¹ I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.¹² And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.¹³ Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.¹⁴ And thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.¹⁵ But thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown, and pouredst out thy fornications on every one that passed by; his it was.¹⁶ And of thy garments thou didst take, and deckedst thy high places with divers colours, and playedst the harlot thereupon: the like things shall not come, neither shall it be so.¹⁷ Thou hast also taken thy fair jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given thee, and madest to thyself images of men, and didst commit whoredom with them,¹⁸ And tookest thy broidered garments, and coveredst them: and thou hast set mine oil and mine incense before them.¹⁹ My meat also which I gave thee, fine flour, and oil, and honey, wherewith I fed thee, thou hast even set it before them for a sweet savour: and thus it was, saith the Lord GOD.²⁰ Moreover thou hast taken thy sons and thy daughters, whom thou hast borne unto me, and these hast thou sacrificed unto them to be devoured. Is this of thy whoredoms a small matter,²¹ That thou hast slain my children, and delivered them to cause them to pass through the fire for them?²² And in all thine abominations and thy whoredoms thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, when thou wast naked and bare, and wast polluted in thy blood.²³ And it came to pass after all thy wickedness, (woe, woe unto thee! saith the LORD GOD;)²⁴ That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.²⁵ Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.²⁶ Thou hast also committed fornication with the Egyptians thy neighbours, great of flesh; and hast increased thy whoredoms, to provoke me to anger.²⁷ Behold, therefore I have stretched out my hand over thee, and have diminished thine ordinary food, and delivered thee unto the will of them that hate thee, the daughters of the Philistines, which are ashamed of thy lewd way.²⁸ Thou hast played the whore also with the Assyrians, because thou wast unsatiable; yea, thou hast played the harlot with them, and yet couldest not be satisfied.²⁹ Thou hast moreover multiplied thy fornication in the land of Canaan unto Chaldea; and yet thou wast not satisfied therewith.³⁰ How weak is thine heart, saith the LORD GOD, seeing thou doest all these things, the work of an imperious whorish woman;³¹ In that thou buildest thine eminent place in the head of every way, and makest thine high place in every street; and hast not been as an harlot, in that thou scornest hire;³² But as a wife that committeth adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!³³ They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom.³⁴ And the contrary is in thee from other women in thy whoredoms, whereas none followeth thee to commit whoredoms: and in that thou givest a reward, and no reward is given unto thee, therefore thou art contrary.³⁵ Wherefore, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD:³⁶ Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because thy filthiness was poured out, and thy nakedness discovered through thy whoredoms with thy lovers, and with all the idols of thy abominations, and by the blood of thy children, which thou didst give unto them;³⁷ Behold, therefore I will gather all thy lovers, with whom thou hast taken pleasure, and all them that thou hast loved, with all them that thou hast hated; I will even gather them round about against thee, and will discover thy nakedness unto them, that they may see all thy nakedness.³⁸ And I will judge thee, as women that break wedlock and shed blood are judged; and I will give thee blood in fury and jealousy.³⁹ And I will also give thee into their hand, and they shall throw down thine eminent place, and shall break down thy high places: they shall strip thee also of thy clothes, and shall take thy fair jewels, and leave thee naked and bare.⁴⁰ They shall also bring up a company against thee, and they shall stone thee with stones, and thrust thee through with their swords.⁴¹ And they shall burn thine houses with fire, and execute judgments upon thee in the sight of many women: and I will cause thee to cease from playing the harlot, and thou also shalt give no hire any more.⁴² So will I make my fury toward thee to rest, and my jealousy shall depart from thee, and I will be quiet, and will be no more angry.⁴³ Because thou hast not remembered the days of thy youth, but hast fretted me in all these things; behold, therefore I also will recompense thy way upon thine head, saith the Lord GOD: and thou shalt not commit this lewdness above all thine abominations.⁴⁴ Behold, every one that useth proverbs shall use this proverb against thee, saying, As is the mother, so is her daughter.⁴⁵ Thou art thy mother's daughter, that lotheth her husband and her children; and thou art the sister of thy sisters, which lothed their husbands and their children: your mother was an Hittite, and your father an Amorite.⁴⁶ And thine elder sister is Samaria, she and her daughters that dwell at thy left hand: and thy younger sister, that dwelleth at thy right hand, is Sodom and her daughters.⁴⁷ Yet hast thou not walked after their ways, nor done after their abominations: but, as if that were a very little thing, thou wast corrupted more than they in all thy ways.⁴⁸ As I live, saith the Lord GOD, Sodom thy sister hath not done, she nor her daughters, as thou hast done, thou and thy daughters.⁴⁹ Behold, this was the iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fulness of bread, and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy.⁵⁰ And they were haughty, and committed abomination before me: therefore I took them away as I saw good.⁵¹ Neither hath Samaria committed half of thy sins; but thou hast multiplied thine abominations more than they, and hast justified thy sisters in all thine abominations which thou hast done.⁵² Thou also, which hast judged thy sisters, bear thine own shame for thy sins that thou hast committed more abominable than they: they are more righteous than thou: yea, be thou confounded also, and bear thy shame, in that thou hast justified thy sisters.⁵³ When I shall bring again their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, and the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, then will I bring again the captivity of thy captives in the midst of them:⁵⁴ That thou mayest bear thine own shame, and mayest be confounded in all that thou hast done, in that thou art a comfort unto them.⁵⁵ When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate.⁵⁶ For thy sister Sodom was not mentioned by thy mouth in the day of thy pride,⁵⁷ Before thy wickedness was discovered, as at the time of thy reproach of the daughters of Syria, and all that are round about her, the daughters of the Philistines, which despise thee round about.⁵⁸ Thou hast borne thy lewdness and thine abominations, saith the LORD.⁵⁹ For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.⁶⁰ Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.⁶¹ Then thou shalt remember thy ways, and be ashamed, when thou shalt receive thy sisters, thine elder and thy younger: and I will give them unto thee for daughters, but not by thy covenant.⁶² And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD:⁶³ That thou mayest remember, and be confounded, and never open thy mouth any more because of thy shame, when I am pacified toward thee for all that thou hast done, saith the Lord GOD.

¹ In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.² For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.³ Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops.⁴ And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.⁵ But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him.⁶ Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?⁷ But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.⁸ Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:⁹ But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.¹⁰ And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.¹¹ And when they bring you unto the synagogues, and unto magistrates, and powers, take ye no thought how or what thing ye shall answer, or what ye shall say:¹² For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say.¹³ And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.¹⁴ And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?¹⁵ And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.¹⁶ And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?¹⁸ And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.²⁰ But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?²¹ So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.²² And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on.²³ The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment.²⁴ Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feedeth them: how much more are ye better than the fowls?²⁵ And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit?²⁶ If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest?²⁷ Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.²⁸ If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?²⁹ And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.³⁰ For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.³¹ But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.³² Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.³³ Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.³⁴ For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.³⁵ Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;³⁶ And ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their lord, when he will return from the wedding; that when he cometh and knocketh, they may open unto him immediately.³⁷ Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.³⁸ And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.³⁹ And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through.⁴⁰ Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not.⁴¹ Then Peter said unto him, Lord, speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?⁴² And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?⁴³ Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.⁴⁴ Of a truth I say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.⁴⁵ But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;⁴⁶ The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.⁴⁷ And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.⁴⁸ But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.⁴⁹ I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I if it be already kindled?⁵⁰ But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!⁵¹ Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:⁵² For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.⁵³ The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.⁵⁴ And he said also to the people, When ye see a cloud rise out of the west, straightway ye say, There cometh a shower; and so it is.⁵⁵ And when ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass.⁵⁶ Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?⁵⁷ Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?⁵⁸ When thou goest with thine adversary to the magistrate, as thou art in the way, give diligence that thou mayest be delivered from him; lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and the officer cast thee into prison.⁵⁹ I tell thee, thou shalt not depart thence, till thou hast paid the very last mite.