Deuteronomy 11
29Now it shall be, when the LORD your God has brought you into the land which you go to possess, that you shall put the blessing on Mount Gerizim and the curse on Mount Ebal.
30Are they not on the other side of the Jordan, toward the setting sun, in the land of the Canaanites who dwell in the plain opposite Gilgal, beside the terebinth trees of Moreh?
31For you will cross over the Jordan and go in to possess the land which the LORD your God is giving you, and you will possess it and dwell in it.
32And you shall be careful to observe all the statutes and judgments which I set before you today.
Deuteronomy 12
1"These are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the LORD God of your fathers is giving you to possess, all the days that you live on the earth.
2You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.
3And you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire; you shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place.
4You shall not worship the LORD your God with such things.
5"But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place; and there you shall go.
6There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, your vowed offerings, your freewill offerings, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks.
7And there you shall eat before the LORD your God, and you shall rejoice in all to which you have put your hand, you and your households, in which the LORD your God has blessed you.
8"You shall not at all do as we are doing here today--every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes--
9for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the LORD your God is giving you.
10But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety,
11then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD.
12And you shall rejoice before the LORD your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you.
13Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see;
14but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.
15"However, you may slaughter and eat meat within all your gates, whatever your heart desires, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you; the unclean and the clean may eat of it, of the gazelle and the deer alike.
16Only you shall not eat the blood; you shall pour it on the earth like water.
17You may not eat within your gates the tithe of your grain or your new wine or your oil, of the firstborn of your herd or your flock, of any of your offerings which you vow, of your freewill offerings, or of the heave offering of your hand.
18But you must eat them before the LORD your God in the place which the LORD your God chooses, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant, and the Levite who is within your gates; and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God in all to which you put your hands.
19Take heed to yourself that you do not forsake the Levite as long as you live in your land.
20"When the LORD your God enlarges your border as He has promised you, and you say, "Let me eat meat,' because you long to eat meat, you may eat as much meat as your heart desires.
21If the place where the LORD your God chooses to put His name is too far from you, then you may slaughter from your herd and from your flock which the LORD has given you, just as I have commanded you, and you may eat within your gates as much as your heart desires.
22Just as the gazelle and the deer are eaten, so you may eat them; the unclean and the clean alike may eat them.
23Only be sure that you do not eat the blood, for the blood is the life; you may not eat the life with the meat.
24You shall not eat it; you shall pour it on the earth like water.
25You shall not eat it, that it may go well with you and your children after you, when you do what is right in the sight of the LORD.
26Only the holy things which you have, and your vowed offerings, you shall take and go to the place which the LORD chooses.
27And you shall offer your burnt offerings, the meat and the blood, on the altar of the LORD your God; and the blood of your sacrifices shall be poured out on the altar of the LORD your God, and you shall eat the meat.
1 Kings 17
2Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
3"Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
4And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there."
5So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.
6The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
7And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
8Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,
9"Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
10So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
11And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12So she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
13And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14For thus says the LORD God of Israel: "The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth."'
15So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.
17Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him.
18So she said to Elijah, "What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?"
19And he said to her, "Give me your son." So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.
20Then he cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?"
21And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him."
22Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
23And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, "See, your son lives!"
24Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth."
Proverbs 5
1My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding,
2That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge.
3For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil;
4But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
5Her feet go down to death, Her steps lay hold of hell.
6Lest you ponder her path of life-- Her ways are unstable; You do not know them.
7Therefore hear me now, my children, And do not depart from the words of my mouth.
8Remove your way far from her, And do not go near the door of her house,
9Lest you give your honor to others, And your years to the cruel one;
10Lest aliens be filled with your wealth, And your labors go to the house of a foreigner;
11And you mourn at last, When your flesh and your body are consumed,
12And say: "How I have hated instruction, And my heart despised correction!
Isaiah 43
1But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.
2When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3For I am the LORD your God, The Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I gave Egypt for your ransom, Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you; Therefore I will give men for you, And people for your life.
5Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west;
6I will say to the north, "Give them up!' And to the south, "Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth--
7Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him."
8Bring out the blind people who have eyes, And the deaf who have ears.
9Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, "It is truth."
Job 30
9"And now I am their taunting song; Yes, I am their byword.
10They abhor me, they keep far from me; They do not hesitate to spit in my face.
11Because He has loosed my bowstring and afflicted me, They have cast off restraint before me.
12At my right hand the rabble arises; They push away my feet, And they raise against me their ways of destruction.
13They break up my path, They promote my calamity; They have no helper.
14They come as broad breakers; Under the ruinous storm they roll along.
15Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud.
16"And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me.
17My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest.
18By great force my garment is disfigured; It binds me about as the collar of my coat.
19He has cast me into the mire, And I have become like dust and ashes.
20"I cry out to You, but You do not answer me; I stand up, and You regard me.
21But You have become cruel to me; With the strength of Your hand You oppose me.
22You lift me up to the wind and cause me to ride on it; You spoil my success.
23For I know that You will bring me to death, And to the house appointed for all living.
24"Surely He would not stretch out His hand against a heap of ruins, If they cry out when He destroys it.
25Have I not wept for him who was in trouble? Has not my soul grieved for the poor?
26But when I looked for good, evil came to me; And when I waited for light, then came darkness.
27My heart is in turmoil and cannot rest; Days of affliction confront me.
28I go about mourning, but not in the sun; I stand up in the assembly and cry out for help.
29I am a brother of jackals, And a companion of ostriches.
30My skin grows black and falls from me; My bones burn with fever.
31My harp is turned to mourning, And my flute to the voice of those who weep.
Job 31
1"I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?
2For what is the allotment of God from above, And the inheritance of the Almighty from on high?
3Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity?
4Does He not see my ways, And count all my steps?
5"If I have walked with falsehood, Or if my foot has hastened to deceit,
6Let me be weighed on honest scales, That God may know my integrity.
7If my step has turned from the way, Or my heart walked after my eyes, Or if any spot adheres to my hands,
8Then let me sow, and another eat; Yes, let my harvest be rooted out.
9"If my heart has been enticed by a woman, Or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,
10Then let my wife grind for another, And let others bow down over her.
11For that would be wickedness; Yes, it would be iniquity deserving of judgment.
12For that would be a fire that consumes to destruction, And would root out all my increase.
13"If I have despised the cause of my male or female servant When they complained against me,
14What then shall I do when God rises up? When He punishes, how shall I answer Him?
15Did not He who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same One fashion us in the womb?
16"If I have kept the poor from their desire, Or caused the eyes of the widow to fail,
17Or eaten my morsel by myself, So that the fatherless could not eat of it
18(But from my youth I reared him as a father, And from my mother's womb I guided the widow);
19If I have seen anyone perish for lack of clothing, Or any poor man without covering;
20If his heart has not blessed me, And if he was not warmed with the fleece of my sheep;
21If I have raised my hand against the fatherless, When I saw I had help in the gate;
22Then let my arm fall from my shoulder, Let my arm be torn from the socket.
23For destruction from God is a terror to me, And because of His magnificence I cannot endure.
24"If I have made gold my hope, Or said to fine gold, "You are my confidence';
25If I have rejoiced because my wealth was great, And because my hand had gained much;
26If I have observed the sun when it shines, Or the moon moving in brightness,
27So that my heart has been secretly enticed, And my mouth has kissed my hand;
28This also would be an iniquity deserving of judgment, For I would have denied God who is above.
29"If I have rejoiced at the destruction of him who hated me, Or lifted myself up when evil found him
30(Indeed I have not allowed my mouth to sin By asking for a curse on his soul);
31If the men of my tent have not said, "Who is there that has not been satisfied with his meat?'
32(But no sojourner had to lodge in the street, For I have opened my doors to the traveler);
33If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, By hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
34Because I feared the great multitude, And dreaded the contempt of families, So that I kept silence And did not go out of the door--
35Oh, that I had one to hear me! Here is my mark. Oh, that the Almighty would answer me, That my Prosecutor had written a book!
36Surely I would carry it on my shoulder, And bind it on me like a crown;
37I would declare to Him the number of my steps; Like a prince I would approach Him.
38"If my land cries out against me, And its furrows weep together;
39If I have eaten its fruit without money, Or caused its owners to lose their lives;
40Then let thistles grow instead of wheat, And weeds instead of barley." The words of Job are ended.
Job 32
1So these three men ceased answering Job, because he was righteous in his own eyes.
2Then the wrath of Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, of the family of Ram, was aroused against Job; his wrath was aroused because he justified himself rather than God.
3Also against his three friends his wrath was aroused, because they had found no answer, and yet had condemned Job.
4Now because they were years older than he, Elihu had waited to speak to Job.
5When Elihu saw that there was no answer in the mouth of these three men, his wrath was aroused.
Glory be to God forever. Amen.