Daily Readings

¹ Now when these things were done, the princes came to me, saying, The people of Israel, and the priests, and the Levites, have not separated themselves from the people of the lands, doing according to their abominations, even of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites.² For they have taken of their daughters for themselves, and for their sons: so that the holy seed have mingled themselves with the people of those lands: yea, the hand of the princes and rulers hath been chief in this trespass.³ And when I heard this thing, I rent my garment and my mantle, and plucked off the hair of my head and of my beard, and sat down astonied.⁴ Then were assembled unto me every one that trembled at the words of the God of Israel, because of the transgression of those that had been carried away; and I sat astonied until the evening sacrifice.⁵ And at the evening sacrifice I arose up from my heaviness; and having rent my garment and my mantle, I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the LORD my God,⁶ And said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.⁷ Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, and to a spoil, and to confusion of face, as it is this day.⁸ And now for a little space grace hath been shewed from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a nail in his holy place, that our God may lighten our eyes, and give us a little reviving in our bondage.⁹ For we were bondmen; yet our God hath not forsaken us in our bondage, but hath extended mercy unto us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to give us a reviving, to set up the house of our God, and to repair the desolations thereof, and to give us a wall in Judah and in Jerusalem.¹⁰ And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? for we have forsaken thy commandments,¹¹ Which thou hast commanded by thy servants the prophets, saying, The land, unto which ye go to possess it, is an unclean land with the filthiness of the people of the lands, with their abominations, which have filled it from one end to another with their uncleanness.¹² Now therefore give not your daughters unto their sons, neither take their daughters unto your sons, nor seek their peace or their wealth for ever: that ye may be strong, and eat the good of the land, and leave it for an inheritance to your children for ever.¹³ And after all that is come upon us for our evil deeds, and for our great trespass, seeing that thou our God hast punished us less than our iniquities deserve, and hast given us such deliverance as this;¹⁴ Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?¹⁵ O LORD God of Israel, thou art righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee in our trespasses: for we cannot stand before thee because of this.

¹ Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.² Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.³ For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?⁴ They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.⁵ The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.⁶ It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.⁷ As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.⁸ The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.⁹ O Israel, thou hast sinned from the days of Gibeah: there they stood: the battle in Gibeah against the children of iniquity did not overtake them.¹⁰ It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.¹¹ And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.¹² Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.¹³ Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.¹⁴ Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.¹⁵ So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

¹ Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timotheus our brother,² To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ which are at Colosse: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.³ We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you,⁴ Since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints,⁵ For the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel;⁶ Which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth:⁷ As ye also learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister of Christ;⁸ Who also declared unto us your love in the Spirit.⁹ For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;¹⁰ That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God;¹¹ Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness;¹² Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:¹³ Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:¹⁴ In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:¹⁵ Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:¹⁶ For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:¹⁷ And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.¹⁹ For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;²⁰ And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;²⁴ Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body's sake, which is the church:²⁵ Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;²⁶ Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints:²⁷ To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:²⁸ Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:²⁹ Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily.