Baramhat 18, 1744

1Does not wisdom cry out, And understanding lift up her voice?

2She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, Beside the way, where the paths meet.

3She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, At the entrance of the doors:

4"To you, O men, I call, And my voice is to the sons of men.

5O you simple ones, understand prudence, And you fools, be of an understanding heart.

6Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, And from the opening of my lips will come right things;

7For my mouth will speak truth; Wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

8All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; Nothing crooked or perverse is in them.

9They are all plain to him who understands, And right to those who find knowledge.

10Receive my instruction, and not silver, And knowledge rather than choice gold;

11For wisdom is better than rubies, And all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.

10"You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me.

11I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior.

12I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses," Says the LORD, "that I am God.

13Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?"

14Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer, The Holy One of Israel: "For your sake I will send to Babylon, And bring them all down as fugitives-- The Chaldeans, who rejoice in their ships.

15I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King."

16Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea And a path through the mighty waters,

17Who brings forth the chariot and horse, The army and the power (They shall lie down together, they shall not rise; They are extinguished, they are quenched like a wick):

18"Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.

19Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth; Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness And rivers in the desert.

20The beast of the field will honor Me, The jackals and the ostriches, Because I give waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My people, My chosen.

21This people I have formed for Myself; They shall declare My praise.

22"But you have not called upon Me, O Jacob; And you have been weary of Me, O Israel.

23You have not brought Me the sheep for your burnt offerings, Nor have you honored Me with your sacrifices. I have not caused you to serve with grain offerings, Nor wearied you with incense.

24You have bought Me no sweet cane with money, Nor have you satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices; But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities.

25"I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.

26Put Me in remembrance; Let us contend together; State your case, that you may be acquitted.

27Your first father sinned, And your mediators have transgressed against Me.

28Therefore I will profane the princes of the sanctuary; I will give Jacob to the curse, And Israel to reproaches.

6So Elihu, the son of Barachel the Buzite, answered and said: "I am young in years, and you are very old; Therefore I was afraid, And dared not declare my opinion to you.

7I said, "Age should speak, And multitude of years should teach wisdom.'

8But there is a spirit in man, And the breath of the Almighty gives him understanding.

9Great men are not always wise, Nor do the aged always understand justice.

10"Therefore I say, "Listen to me, I also will declare my opinion.'

11Indeed I waited for your words, I listened to your reasonings, while you searched out what to say.

12I paid close attention to you; And surely not one of you convinced Job, Or answered his words--

13Lest you say, "We have found wisdom'; God will vanquish him, not man.

14Now he has not directed his words against me; So I will not answer him with your words.

15"They are dismayed and answer no more; Words escape them.

16And I have waited, because they did not speak, Because they stood still and answered no more.

9Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You.

1Then He began to speak to them in parables: "A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it, dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower. And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.

2Now at vintage-time he sent a servant to the vinedressers, that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers.

3And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed.

4Again he sent them another servant, and at him they threw stones, wounded him in the head, and sent him away shamefully treated.

5And again he sent another, and him they killed; and many others, beating some and killing some.

6Therefore still having one son, his beloved, he also sent him to them last, saying, "They will respect my son.'

7But those vinedressers said among themselves, "This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.'

8So they took him and killed him and cast him out of the vineyard.

9"Therefore what will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the vinedressers, and give the vineyard to others.

10Have you not even read this Scripture: "The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone.

11This was the LORD's doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes'?"

12And they sought to lay hands on Him, but feared the multitude, for they knew He had spoken the parable against them. So they left Him and went away.

1Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;

2for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.

3For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality;

4that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,

5not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;

6that no one should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified.

7For God did not call us to uncleanness, but in holiness.

8Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

9But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another;

10and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more;

11that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you,

12that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

13But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.

15For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.

16For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

17Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

18Therefore comfort one another with these words.

7Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

8Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

9Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom.

10Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

11Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

12There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?