Baramhat 15, 1741

¹Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, ²fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. ³Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. ⁴Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, ⁷but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. ⁸And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. ⁹Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ¹²Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; ¹³for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. ¹⁴Do all things without complaining and disputing, ¹⁵that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, ¹⁶holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.

¹⁰For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit. ¹¹Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it. ¹²For the eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the LORD is against those who do evil." ¹³And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? ¹⁴But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled." ¹⁵But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; ¹⁶having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. ¹⁷For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. ¹⁸For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,

²⁵As Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him and fell down at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶But Peter lifted him up, saying, "Stand up; I myself am also a man." ²⁷And as he talked with him, he went in and found many who had come together. ²⁸Then he said to them, "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean. ²⁹Therefore I came without objection as soon as I was sent for. I ask, then, for what reason have you sent for me?" ³⁰So Cornelius said, "Four days ago I was fasting until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing, ³¹and said, "Cornelius, your prayer has been heard, and your alms are remembered in the sight of God. ³²Send therefore to Joppa and call Simon here, whose surname is Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea. When he comes, he will speak to you.' ³³So I sent to you immediately, and you have done well to come. Now therefore, we are all present before God, to hear all the things commanded you by God." ³⁴Then Peter opened his mouth and said: "In truth I perceive that God shows no partiality. ³⁵But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him.

¹Bow down Your ear, O LORD, hear me; For I am poor and needy. ²Preserve my life, for I am holy; You are my God; Save Your servant who trusts in You! ³Be merciful to me, O Lord, For I cry to You all day long. ⁴Rejoice the soul of Your servant, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. ⁵For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You. ⁶Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer; And attend to the voice of my supplications. ⁷In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me. ⁸Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord; Nor are there any works like Your works. ⁹All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name. ¹⁰For You are great, and do wondrous things; You alone are God. ¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD; I will walk in Your truth; Unite my heart to fear Your name. ¹²I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And I will glorify Your name forevermore. ¹³For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. ¹⁴O God, the proud have risen against me, And a mob of violent men have sought my life, And have not set You before them. ¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious, Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth. ¹⁶Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give Your strength to Your servant, And save the son of Your maidservant. ¹⁷Show me a sign for good, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

¹²When the day began to wear away, the twelve came and said to Him, "Send the multitude away, that they may go into the surrounding towns and country, and lodge and get provisions; for we are in a deserted place here." ¹³But He said to them, "You give them something to eat." And they said, "We have no more than five loaves and two fish, unless we go and buy food for all these people." ¹⁴For there were about five thousand men. Then He said to His disciples, "Make them sit down in groups of fifty." ¹⁵And they did so, and made them all sit down. ¹⁶Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the multitude. ¹⁷So they all ate and were filled, and twelve baskets of the leftover fragments were taken up by them.

Proverbs 3

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; ⁶In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. ⁷Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil. ⁸It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones. ⁹Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; ¹⁰So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine. ¹¹My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; ¹²For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights. ¹³Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding; ¹⁴For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold. ¹⁵She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. ¹⁶Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor. ¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace. ¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who retain her.

Isaiah 37

³³"Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the king of Assyria: "He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. ³⁴By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,' Says the LORD. ³⁵"For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David's sake."' ³⁶Then the angel of the LORD went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses--all dead. ³⁷So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh. ³⁸Now it came to pass, as he was worshiping in the house of Nisroch his god, that his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer struck him down with the sword; and they escaped into the land of Ararat. Then Esarhaddon his son reigned in his place.

Isaiah 38

¹In those days Hezekiah was sick and near death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, went to him and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: "Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live."' ²Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed to the LORD, ³and said, "Remember now, O LORD, I pray, how I have walked before You in truth and with a loyal heart, and have done what is good in Your sight." And Hezekiah wept bitterly. ⁴And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying, ⁵"Go and tell Hezekiah, "Thus says the LORD, the God of David your father: "I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; surely I will add to your days fifteen years. ⁶I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria, and I will defend this city."'

Job 22

¹Then Eliphaz the Temanite answered and said: ²"Can a man be profitable to God, Though he who is wise may be profitable to himself? ³Is it any pleasure to the Almighty that you are righteous? Or is it gain to Him that you make your ways blameless? ⁴"Is it because of your fear of Him that He corrects you, And enters into judgment with you? ⁵Is not your wickedness great, And your iniquity without end? ⁶For you have taken pledges from your brother for no reason, And stripped the naked of their clothing. ⁷You have not given the weary water to drink, And you have withheld bread from the hungry. ⁸But the mighty man possessed the land, And the honorable man dwelt in it. ⁹You have sent widows away empty, And the strength of the fatherless was crushed. ¹⁰Therefore snares are all around you, And sudden fear troubles you, ¹¹Or darkness so that you cannot see; And an abundance of water covers you. ¹²"Is not God in the height of heaven? And see the highest stars, how lofty they are! ¹³And you say, "What does God know? Can He judge through the deep darkness? ¹⁴Thick clouds cover Him, so that He cannot see, And He walks above the circle of heaven.' ¹⁵Will you keep to the old way Which wicked men have trod, ¹⁶Who were cut down before their time, Whose foundations were swept away by a flood? ¹⁷They said to God, "Depart from us! What can the Almighty do to them?' ¹⁸Yet He filled their houses with good things; But the counsel of the wicked is far from me. ¹⁹"The righteous see it and are glad, And the innocent laugh at them: ²⁰"Surely our adversaries are cut down, And the fire consumes their remnant.' ²¹"Now acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; Thereby good will come to you. ²²Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, And lay up His words in your heart. ²³If you return to the Almighty, you will be built up; You will remove iniquity far from your tents. ²⁴Then you will lay your gold in the dust, And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks. ²⁵Yes, the Almighty will be your gold And your precious silver; ²⁶For then you will have your delight in the Almighty, And lift up your face to God. ²⁷You will make your prayer to Him, He will hear you, And you will pay your vows. ²⁸You will also declare a thing, And it will be established for you; So light will shine on your ways. ²⁹When they cast you down, and you say, "Exaltation will come!' Then He will save the humble person. ³⁰He will even deliver one who is not innocent; Yes, he will be delivered by the purity of your hands."