Baramhat 7, 1741

²For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you, And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation. ³We give no offense in anything, that our ministry may not be blamed. ⁴But in all things we commend ourselves as ministers of God: in much patience, in tribulations, in needs, in distresses, ⁵in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in fastings; ⁶by purity, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by sincere love, ⁷by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, ⁸by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; ⁹as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chastened, and yet not killed; ¹⁰as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things. ¹¹O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. ¹²You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections. ¹³Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open.

¹My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. ²For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ³Indeed, we put bits in horses' mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things. See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. ⁷For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? ¹²Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.

¹Now after five days Ananias the high priest came down with the elders and a certain orator named Tertullus. These gave evidence to the governor against Paul. ²And when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation, saying: "Seeing that through you we enjoy great peace, and prosperity is being brought to this nation by your foresight, ³we accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix, with all thankfulness. ⁴Nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear, by your courtesy, a few words from us. ⁵For we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. ⁶He even tried to profane the temple, and we seized him, and wanted to judge him according to our law. ⁷But the commander Lysias came by and with great violence took him out of our hands, ⁸commanding his accusers to come to you. By examining him yourself you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him." ⁹And the Jews also assented, maintaining that these things were so. ¹⁰Then Paul, after the governor had nodded to him to speak, answered: "Inasmuch as I know that you have been for many years a judge of this nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, ¹¹because you may ascertain that it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship. ¹²And they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone nor inciting the crowd, either in the synagogues or in the city. ¹³Nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. ¹⁴But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. ¹⁵I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. ¹⁶This being so, I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men. ¹⁷"Now after many years I came to bring alms and offerings to my nation, ¹⁸in the midst of which some Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor with tumult. ¹⁹They ought to have been here before you to object if they had anything against me. ²⁰Or else let those who are here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, ²¹unless it is for this one statement which I cried out, standing among them, "Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged by you this day."' ²²But when Felix heard these things, having more accurate knowledge of the Way, he adjourned the proceedings and said, "When Lysias the commander comes down, I will make a decision on your case." ²³So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and to let him have liberty, and told him not to forbid any of his friends to provide for or visit him.

¹O God, the nations have come into Your inheritance; Your holy temple they have defiled; They have laid Jerusalem in heaps. ²The dead bodies of Your servants They have given as food for the birds of the heavens, The flesh of Your saints to the beasts of the earth. ³Their blood they have shed like water all around Jerusalem, And there was no one to bury them. ⁴We have become a reproach to our neighbors, A scorn and derision to those who are around us. ⁵How long, LORD? Will You be angry forever? Will Your jealousy burn like fire? ⁶Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know You, And on the kingdoms that do not call on Your name. ⁷For they have devoured Jacob, And laid waste his dwelling place. ⁸Oh, do not remember former iniquities against us! Let Your tender mercies come speedily to meet us, For we have been brought very low. ⁹Help us, O God of our salvation, For the glory of Your name; And deliver us, and provide atonement for our sins, For Your name's sake! ¹⁰Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let there be known among the nations in our sight The avenging of the blood of Your servants which has been shed. ¹¹Let the groaning of the prisoner come before You; According to the greatness of Your power Preserve those who are appointed to die; ¹²And return to our neighbors sevenfold into their bosom Their reproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord. ¹³So we, Your people and sheep of Your pasture, Will give You thanks forever; We will show forth Your praise to all generations.

¹¹Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. ¹²And the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. ¹³And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ¹⁴But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything. ¹⁷"But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."' ²⁰"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.' ²²"But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry. ²⁵"Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. ²⁷And he said to him, "Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.' ²⁸"But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him. ²⁹So he answered and said to his father, "Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. ³⁰But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.' ³¹"And he said to him, "Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. ³²It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found."'

¹O LORD, God of my salvation, I have cried out day and night before You. ²Let my prayer come before You; Incline Your ear to my cry. ³For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near to the grave. ⁴I am counted with those who go down to the pit; I am like a man who has no strength, ⁵Adrift among the dead, Like the slain who lie in the grave, Whom You remember no more, And who are cut off from Your hand. ⁶You have laid me in the lowest pit, In darkness, in the depths. ⁷Your wrath lies heavy upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves.Selah ⁸You have put away my acquaintances far from me; You have made me an abomination to them; I am shut up, and I cannot get out; ⁹My eye wastes away because of affliction. LORD, I have called daily upon You; I have stretched out my hands to You. ¹⁰Will You work wonders for the dead? Shall the dead arise and praise You?Selah ¹¹Shall Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave? Or Your faithfulness in the place of destruction? ¹²Shall Your wonders be known in the dark? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? ¹³But to You I have cried out, O LORD, And in the morning my prayer comes before You. ¹⁴LORD, why do You cast off my soul? Why do You hide Your face from me? ¹⁵I have been afflicted and ready to die from my youth; I suffer Your terrors; I am distraught. ¹⁶Your fierce wrath has gone over me; Your terrors have cut me off. ¹⁷They came around me all day long like water; They engulfed me altogether. ¹⁸Loved one and friend You have put far from me, And my acquaintances into darkness.

¹Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, ²"Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." ³He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, saying, "Honor your father and your mother'; and, "He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' ⁵But you say, "Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God"-- ⁶then he need not honor his father or mother.' Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. ⁷Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ⁸"These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. ⁹And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."' ¹⁰When He had called the multitude to Himself, He said to them, "Hear and understand: ¹¹Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man." ¹²Then His disciples came and said to Him, "Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?" ¹³But He answered and said, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. ¹⁴Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch." ¹⁵Then Peter answered and said to Him, "Explain this parable to us." ¹⁶So Jesus said, "Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? ¹⁸But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. ¹⁹For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. ²⁰These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man."

¹Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. ²Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, ³Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me, And in wrath they hate me. ⁴My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. ⁵Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. ⁶So I said, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. ⁷Indeed, I would wander far off, And remain in the wilderness.Selah ⁸I would hasten my escape From the windy storm and tempest." ⁹Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. ¹⁰Day and night they go around it on its walls; Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it. ¹¹Destruction is in its midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets. ¹²For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. ¹³But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. ¹⁴We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God in the throng. ¹⁵Let death seize them; Let them go down alive into hell, For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them. ¹⁶As for me, I will call upon God, And the LORD shall save me. ¹⁷Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice. ¹⁸He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me. ¹⁹God will hear, and afflict them, Even He who abides from of old.Selah Because they do not change, Therefore they do not fear God. ²⁰He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has broken his covenant. ²¹The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords. ²²Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. ²³But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction; Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; But I will trust in You.

¹"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. ²Now when he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. ³And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, ⁴and said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' So they went. ⁵Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. ⁶And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle, and said to them, "Why have you been standing here idle all day?' ⁷They said to him, "Because no one hired us.' He said to them, "You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right you will receive.' ⁸"So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, "Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first.' ⁹And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius. ¹⁰But when the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise received each a denarius. ¹¹And when they had received it, they complained against the landowner, ¹²saying, "These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.' ¹³But he answered one of them and said, "Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? ¹⁴Take what is yours and go your way. I wish to give to this last man the same as to you. ¹⁵Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with my own things? Or is your eye evil because I am good?' ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen."

¹I will extol You, O LORD, for You have lifted me up, And have not let my foes rejoice over me. ²O LORD my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me. ³O LORD, You brought my soul up from the grave; You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

²⁸"But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, "Son, go, work today in my vineyard.' ²⁹He answered and said, "I will not,' but afterward he regretted it and went. ³⁰Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, "I go, sir,' but he did not go. ³¹Which of the two did the will of his father?" They said to Him, "The first." Jesus said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. ³²For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.