Paona 30, 1738

8But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in the mercy of God forever and ever.

9I will praise You forever, Because You have done it; And in the presence of Your saints I will wait on Your name, for it is good.

28For I say to you, among those born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he."

29And when all the people heard Him, even the tax collectors justified God, having been baptized with the baptism of John.

30But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.

31And the Lord said, "To what then shall I liken the men of this generation, and what are they like?

32They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, saying: "We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not weep.'

33For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, "He has a demon.'

34The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'

35But wisdom is justified by all her children."

10But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil.

14They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing,

15To declare that the LORD is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.

11"Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

12And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.

13For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

14And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come.

15He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

16"But to what shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their companions,

17and saying: "We played the flute for you, And you did not dance; We mourned to you, And you did not lament.'

18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, "He has a demon.'

19The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' But wisdom is justified by her children."

32And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets:

33who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,

34quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.

35Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection.

36Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment.

37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented--

38of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.

39And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise,

40God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.

1Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

11Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul,

12having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

13Therefore submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme,

14or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and for the praise of those who do good.

15For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men--

16as free, yet not using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God.

17Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.

8Then He gave him the covenant of circumcision; and so Abraham begot Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day; and Isaac begot Jacob, and Jacob begot the twelve patriarchs.

9"And the patriarchs, becoming envious, sold Joseph into Egypt. But God was with him

10and delivered him out of all his troubles, and gave him favor and wisdom in the presence of Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.

11Now a famine and great trouble came over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, and our fathers found no sustenance.

12But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.

13And the second time Joseph was made known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to the Pharaoh.

14Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.

15So Jacob went down to Egypt; and he died, he and our fathers.

16And they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham bought for a sum of money from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem.

17"But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt

18till another king arose who did not know Joseph.

19This man dealt treacherously with our people, and oppressed our forefathers, making them expose their babies, so that they might not live.

20At this time Moses was born, and was well pleasing to God; and he was brought up in his father's house for three months.

21But when he was set out, Pharaoh's daughter took him away and brought him up as her own son.

22And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.