Baramhat 21, 1743

10Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran.

11So he came to a certain place and stayed there all night, because the sun had set. And he took one of the stones of that place and put it at his head, and he lay down in that place to sleep.

12Then he dreamed, and behold, a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the angels of God were ascending and descending on it.

13And behold, the LORD stood above it and said: "I am the LORD God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and your descendants.

14Also your descendants shall be as the dust of the earth; you shall spread abroad to the west and the east, to the north and the south; and in you and in your seed all the families of the earth shall be blessed.

15Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have spoken to you."

16Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it."

17And he was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven!"

18Then Jacob rose early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put at his head, set it up as a pillar, and poured oil on top of it.

19And he called the name of that place Bethel; but the name of that city had been Luz previously.

20Then Jacob made a vow, saying, "If God will be with me, and keep me in this way that I am going, and give me bread to eat and clothing to put on,

21so that I come back to my father's house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.

22And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You."

1O LORD, You are my God. I will exalt You, I will praise Your name, For You have done wonderful things; Your counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.

2For You have made a city a ruin, A fortified city a ruin, A palace of foreigners to be a city no more; It will never be rebuilt.

3Therefore the strong people will glorify You; The city of the terrible nations will fear You.

4For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm, A shade from the heat; For the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall.

5You will reduce the noise of aliens, As heat in a dry place; As heat in the shadow of a cloud, The song of the terrible ones will be diminished.

6And in this mountain The LORD of hosts will make for all people A feast of choice pieces, A feast of wines on the lees, Of fat things full of marrow, Of well-refined wines on the lees.

7And He will destroy on this mountain The surface of the covering cast over all people, And the veil that is spread over all nations.

8He will swallow up death forever, And the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces; The rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; For the LORD has spoken.

9And it will be said in that day: "Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the LORD; We have waited for Him; We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation."

10For on this mountain the hand of the LORD will rest, And Moab shall be trampled down under Him, As straw is trampled down for the refuse heap.

11And He will spread out His hands in their midst As a swimmer reaches out to swim, And He will bring down their pride Together with the trickery of their hands.

12The fortress of the high fort of your walls He will bring down, lay low, And bring to the ground, down to the dust.

1In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; God will appoint salvation for walls and bulwarks.

2Open the gates, That the righteous nation which keeps the truth may enter in.

3You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You.

4Trust in the LORD forever, For in Yah, the LORD, is everlasting strength.

5For He brings down those who dwell on high, The lofty city; He lays it low, He lays it low to the ground, He brings it down to the dust.

6The foot shall tread it down-- The feet of the poor And the steps of the needy."

7The way of the just is uprightness; O Most Upright, You weigh the path of the just.

8Yes, in the way of Your judgments, O LORD, we have waited for You; The desire of our soul is for Your name And for the remembrance of You.

1Then Bildad the Shuhite answered and said:

2"How long till you put an end to words? Gain understanding, and afterward we will speak.

3Why are we counted as beasts, And regarded as stupid in your sight?

4You who tear yourself in anger, Shall the earth be forsaken for you? Or shall the rock be removed from its place?

5"The light of the wicked indeed goes out, And the flame of his fire does not shine.

6The light is dark in his tent, And his lamp beside him is put out.

7The steps of his strength are shortened, And his own counsel casts him down.

8For he is cast into a net by his own feet, And he walks into a snare.

9The net takes him by the heel, And a snare lays hold of him.

10A noose is hidden for him on the ground, And a trap for him in the road.

11Terrors frighten him on every side, And drive him to his feet.

12His strength is starved, And destruction is ready at his side.

13It devours patches of his skin; The firstborn of death devours his limbs.

14He is uprooted from the shelter of his tent, And they parade him before the king of terrors.

15They dwell in his tent who are none of his; Brimstone is scattered on his dwelling.

16His roots are dried out below, And his branch withers above.

17The memory of him perishes from the earth, And he has no name among the renowned.

18He is driven from light into darkness, And chased out of the world.

19He has neither son nor posterity among his people, Nor any remaining in his dwellings.

20Those in the west are astonished at his day, As those in the east are frightened.

21Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, And this is the place of him who does not know God."

1Hear a just cause, O LORD, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips.

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.

1I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

2with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

3endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

4There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling;

5one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

6one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

7But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ's gift.

8Therefore He says: "When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, And gave gifts to men."

9(Now this, "He ascended"--what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?

10He who descended is also the One who ascended far above all the heavens, that He might fill all things.)

11And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,

12for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,

13till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;

14that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,

15but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--

16from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

2And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed.

3By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber.

4For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment;

5and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;

6and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly;

7and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked

8(for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)--