Amshir 25, 1742

⁹The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, ¹⁰and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, ¹²that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. ¹³But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, ¹⁴to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. ¹⁵Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle. ¹⁶Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, ¹⁷comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work.

⁹then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, ¹¹whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord. ¹²But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, ¹³and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you, ¹⁴having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children. ¹⁵They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness;

⁷In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days. ⁸And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. ⁹So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed. ¹⁰They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary. ¹¹After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island.

¹The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid? ²When the wicked came against me To eat up my flesh, My enemies and foes, They stumbled and fell. ³Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident. ⁴One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple. ⁵For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock. ⁶And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. ⁷Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice! Have mercy also upon me, and answer me. ⁸When You said, "Seek My face," My heart said to You, "Your face, LORD, I will seek." ⁹Do not hide Your face from me; Do not turn Your servant away in anger; You have been my help; Do not leave me nor forsake me, O God of my salvation. ¹⁰When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me. ¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD, And lead me in a smooth path, because of my enemies. ¹²Do not deliver me to the will of my adversaries; For false witnesses have risen against me, And such as breathe out violence. ¹³I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the LORD In the land of the living. ¹⁴Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!

¹Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, ²being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. ³And the devil said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." ⁴But Jesus answered him, saying, "It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God."' ⁵Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours." ⁸And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve."' ⁹Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰For it is written: "He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,' ¹¹and, "In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."' ¹²And Jesus answered and said to him, "It has been said, "You shall not tempt the LORD your God."' ¹³Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

Exodus 4

¹⁹Now the LORD said to Moses in Midian, "Go, return to Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead." ²⁰Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand. ²¹And the LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh which I have put in your hand. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go. ²²Then you shall say to Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD: "Israel is My son, My firstborn. ²³So I say to you, let My son go that he may serve Me. But if you refuse to let him go, indeed I will kill your son, your firstborn.""' ²⁴And it came to pass on the way, at the encampment, that the LORD met him and sought to kill him. ²⁵Then Zipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son and cast it at Moses' feet, and said, "Surely you are a husband of blood to me!" ²⁶So He let him go. Then she said, "You are a husband of blood!"--because of the circumcision. ²⁷And the LORD said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. ²⁸So Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded him. ²⁹Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel. ³⁰And Aaron spoke all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the sight of the people. ³¹So the people believed; and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.

Exodus 5

¹Afterward Moses and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, "Thus says the LORD God of Israel: "Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness."' ²And Pharaoh said, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go." ³So they said, "The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three days' journey into the desert and sacrifice to the LORD our God, lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword." ⁴Then the king of Egypt said to them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people from their work? Get back to your labor." ⁵And Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make them rest from their labor!" ⁶So the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying, ⁷"You shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves. ⁸And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, "Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' ⁹Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words." ¹⁰And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, "Thus says Pharaoh: "I will not give you straw. ¹¹Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced."' ¹²So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. ¹³And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, "Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw." ¹⁴Also the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten and were asked, "Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?" ¹⁵Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, "Why are you dealing thus with your servants? ¹⁶There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, "Make brick!' And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people." ¹⁷But he said, "You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, "Let us go and sacrifice to the LORD.' ¹⁸Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks." ¹⁹And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, "You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota." ²⁰Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them. ²¹And they said to them, "Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us." ²²So Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it You have sent me? ²³For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all."

Exodus 6

¹Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land." ²And God spoke to Moses and said to him: "I am the LORD. ³I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name LORD I was not known to them. ⁴I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were strangers. ⁵And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant. ⁶Therefore say to the children of Israel: "I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. ⁷I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. ⁸And I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; and I will give it to you as a heritage: I am the LORD."' ⁹So Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. ¹⁰And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, ¹¹"Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land." ¹²And Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "The children of Israel have not heeded me. How then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?" ¹³Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Joel 2

²¹Fear not, O land; Be glad and rejoice, For the LORD has done marvelous things! ²²Do not be afraid, you beasts of the field; For the open pastures are springing up, And the tree bears its fruit; The fig tree and the vine yield their strength. ²³Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you-- The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month. ²⁴The threshing floors shall be full of wheat, And the vats shall overflow with new wine and oil. ²⁵"So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, The crawling locust, The consuming locust, And the chewing locust, My great army which I sent among you. ²⁶You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame.

Isaiah 9

⁹All the people will know-- Ephraim and the inhabitant of Samaria-- Who say in pride and arrogance of heart: ¹⁰"The bricks have fallen down, But we will rebuild with hewn stones; The sycamores are cut down, But we will replace them with cedars." ¹¹Therefore the LORD shall set up The adversaries of Rezin against him, And spur his enemies on, ¹²The Syrians before and the Philistines behind; And they shall devour Israel with an open mouth. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. ¹³For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts. ¹⁴Therefore the LORD will cut off head and tail from Israel, Palm branch and bulrush in one day. ¹⁵The elder and honorable, he is the head; The prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail. ¹⁶For the leaders of this people cause them to err, And those who are led by them are destroyed. ¹⁷Therefore the Lord will have no joy in their young men, Nor have mercy on their fatherless and widows; For everyone is a hypocrite and an evildoer, And every mouth speaks folly. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still. ¹⁸For wickedness burns as the fire; It shall devour the briers and thorns, And kindle in the thickets of the forest; They shall mount up like rising smoke. ¹⁹Through the wrath of the LORD of hosts The land is burned up, And the people shall be as fuel for the fire; No man shall spare his brother. ²⁰And he shall snatch on the right hand And be hungry; He shall devour on the left hand And not be satisfied; Every man shall eat the flesh of his own arm. ²¹Manasseh shall devour Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; Together they shall be against Judah. For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

Isaiah 10

¹"Woe to those who decree unrighteous decrees, Who write misfortune, Which they have prescribed ²To rob the needy of justice, And to take what is right from the poor of My people, That widows may be their prey, And that they may rob the fatherless. ³What will you do in the day of punishment, And in the desolation which will come from afar? To whom will you flee for help? And where will you leave your glory? ⁴Without Me they shall bow down among the prisoners, And they shall fall among the slain." For all this His anger is not turned away, But His hand is stretched out still.

Job 12

¹Then Job answered and said: ²"No doubt you are the people, And wisdom will die with you! ³But I have understanding as well as you; I am not inferior to you. Indeed, who does not know such things as these? ⁴"I am one mocked by his friends, Who called on God, and He answered him, The just and blameless who is ridiculed. ⁵A lamp is despised in the thought of one who is at ease; It is made ready for those whose feet slip. ⁶The tents of robbers prosper, And those who provoke God are secure-- In what God provides by His hand. ⁷"But now ask the beasts, and they will teach you; And the birds of the air, and they will tell you; ⁸Or speak to the earth, and it will teach you; And the fish of the sea will explain to you. ⁹Who among all these does not know That the hand of the LORD has done this, ¹⁰In whose hand is the life of every living thing, And the breath of all mankind? ¹¹Does not the ear test words And the mouth taste its food? ¹²Wisdom is with aged men, And with length of days, understanding. ¹³"With Him are wisdom and strength, He has counsel and understanding. ¹⁴If He breaks a thing down, it cannot be rebuilt; If He imprisons a man, there can be no release. ¹⁵If He withholds the waters, they dry up; If He sends them out, they overwhelm the earth. ¹⁶With Him are strength and prudence. The deceived and the deceiver are His. ¹⁷He leads counselors away plundered, And makes fools of the judges. ¹⁸He loosens the bonds of kings, And binds their waist with a belt. ¹⁹He leads princes away plundered, And overthrows the mighty. ²⁰He deprives the trusted ones of speech, And takes away the discernment of the elders. ²¹He pours contempt on princes, And disarms the mighty. ²²He uncovers deep things out of darkness, And brings the shadow of death to light. ²³He makes nations great, and destroys them; He enlarges nations, and guides them. ²⁴He takes away the understanding of the chiefs of the people of the earth, And makes them wander in a pathless wilderness. ²⁵They grope in the dark without light, And He makes them stagger like a drunken man.

Job 13

¹"Behold, my eye has seen all this, My ear has heard and understood it. ²What you know, I also know; I am not inferior to you. ³But I would speak to the Almighty, And I desire to reason with God. ⁴But you forgers of lies, You are all worthless physicians. ⁵Oh, that you would be silent, And it would be your wisdom! ⁶Now hear my reasoning, And heed the pleadings of my lips. ⁷Will you speak wickedly for God, And talk deceitfully for Him? ⁸Will you show partiality for Him? Will you contend for God? ⁹Will it be well when He searches you out? Or can you mock Him as one mocks a man? ¹⁰He will surely rebuke you If you secretly show partiality. ¹¹Will not His excellence make you afraid, And the dread of Him fall upon you? ¹²Your platitudes are proverbs of ashes, Your defenses are defenses of clay. ¹³"Hold your peace with me, and let me speak, Then let come on me what may! ¹⁴Why do I take my flesh in my teeth, And put my life in my hands? ¹⁵Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. ¹⁶He also shall be my salvation, For a hypocrite could not come before Him. ¹⁷Listen carefully to my speech, And to my declaration with your ears. ¹⁸See now, I have prepared my case, I know that I shall be vindicated. ¹⁹Who is he who will contend with me? If now I hold my tongue, I perish. ²⁰"Only two things do not do to me, Then I will not hide myself from You: ²¹Withdraw Your hand far from me, And let not the dread of You make me afraid. ²²Then call, and I will answer; Or let me speak, then You respond to me. ²³How many are my iniquities and sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. ²⁴Why do You hide Your face, And regard me as Your enemy? ²⁵Will You frighten a leaf driven to and fro? And will You pursue dry stubble? ²⁶For You write bitter things against me, And make me inherit the iniquities of my youth. ²⁷You put my feet in the stocks, And watch closely all my paths. You set a limit for the soles of my feet. ²⁸"Man decays like a rotten thing, Like a garment that is moth-eaten.

Job 14

¹"Man who is born of woman Is of few days and full of trouble. ²He comes forth like a flower and fades away; He flees like a shadow and does not continue. ³And do You open Your eyes on such a one, And bring me to judgment with Yourself? ⁴Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one! ⁵Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; You have appointed his limits, so that he cannot pass. ⁶Look away from him that he may rest, Till like a hired man he finishes his day. ⁷"For there is hope for a tree, If it is cut down, that it will sprout again, And that its tender shoots will not cease. ⁸Though its root may grow old in the earth, And its stump may die in the ground, ⁹Yet at the scent of water it will bud And bring forth branches like a plant. ¹⁰But man dies and is laid away; Indeed he breathes his last And where is he? ¹¹As water disappears from the sea, And a river becomes parched and dries up, ¹²So man lies down and does not rise. Till the heavens are no more, They will not awake Nor be roused from their sleep. ¹³"Oh, that You would hide me in the grave, That You would conceal me until Your wrath is past, That You would appoint me a set time, and remember me! ¹⁴If a man dies, shall he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait, Till my change comes. ¹⁵You shall call, and I will answer You; You shall desire the work of Your hands. ¹⁶For now You number my steps, But do not watch over my sin. ¹⁷My transgression is sealed up in a bag, And You cover my iniquity. ¹⁸"But as a mountain falls and crumbles away, And as a rock is moved from its place; ¹⁹As water wears away stones, And as torrents wash away the soil of the earth; So You destroy the hope of man. ²⁰You prevail forever against him, and he passes on; You change his countenance and send him away. ²¹His sons come to honor, and he does not know it; They are brought low, and he does not perceive it. ²²But his flesh will be in pain over it, And his soul will mourn over it."