Leviticus 23
1 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘These are the Lord’s appointed times which you must proclaim as holy assemblies—my appointed times.
3 “‘Six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there must be a Sabbath of complete rest, a holy assembly. You must not do any work; it is a Sabbath to the Lord in all the places where you live.
4 “‘These are the Lord’s appointed times, holy assemblies, which you must proclaim at their appointed time. 5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, is a Passover offering to the Lord. 6 Then on the fifteenth day of the same month will be the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread. 7 On the first day there will be a holy assembly for you; you must not do any regular work. 8 You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.’”
9 The Lord spoke to Moses: 10 “Speak to the Israelites and tell them, ‘When you enter the land that I am about to give to you and you gather in its harvest, then you must bring the sheaf of the first portion of your harvest to the priest, 11 and he must wave the sheaf before the Lord to be accepted for your benefit—on the day after the Sabbath the priest is to wave it. 12 On the day you wave the sheaf you must also offer a flawless yearling lamb for a burnt offering to the Lord, 13 along with its grain offering, two-tenths of an ephah of choice wheat flour mixed with olive oil, as a gift to the Lord, a soothing aroma, and its drink offering, one-fourth of a hin of wine. 14 You must not eat bread, roasted grain, or fresh grain until this very day, until you bring the offering to your God. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live.
15 “‘You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks. 16 You must count fifty days—until the day after the seventh Sabbath—and then you must present a new grain offering to the Lord. 17 From the places where you live you must bring two loaves of bread for a wave offering; they must be made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine wheat flour, baked with yeast, as firstfruits to the Lord. 18 Along with the loaves of bread, you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs, one young bull, and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord. 19 You must also offer one male goat for a sin offering and two yearling lambs for a peace-offering sacrifice, 20 and the priest is to wave them—the two lambs—along with the bread of the firstfruits, as a wave offering before the Lord; they will be holy to the Lord for the priest.
21 “‘On this very day you must proclaim an assembly; it is to be a holy assembly for you. You must not do any regular work. This is a perpetual statute in all the places where you live throughout your generations. 22 When you gather in the harvest of your land, you must not completely harvest the corner of your field, and you must not gather up the gleanings of your harvest. You must leave them for the poor and the resident foreigner. I am the Lord your God.’”
23 The Lord spoke to Moses: 24 “Tell the Israelites, ‘In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you must have a complete rest, a memorial announced by loud horn blasts, a holy assembly. 25 You must not do any regular work, but you must present a gift to the Lord.’”
26 The Lord spoke to Moses: 27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must humble yourselves and present a gift to the Lord. 28 You must not do any work on this particular day, because it is a day of atonement to make atonement for yourselves before the Lord your God. 29 Indeed, any person who does not behave with humility on this particular day will be cut off from his people. 30 As for any person who does any work on this particular day, I will exterminate that person from the midst of his people— 31 you must not do any work! This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all the places where you live. 32 It is a Sabbath of complete rest for you, and you must humble yourselves on the ninth day of the month in the evening, from evening until evening you must observe your Sabbath.”
33 The Lord spoke to Moses: 34 “Tell the Israelites, ‘On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Feast of Shelters for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day is a holy assembly; you must do no regular work. 36 For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; you must not do any regular work.
37 “‘These are the appointed times of the Lord that you must proclaim as holy assemblies to present a gift to the Lord—burnt offering, grain offering, sacrifice, and drink offerings, each day according to its regulation, 38 besides the Sabbaths of the Lord and all your gifts, votive offerings, and freewill offerings which you must give to the Lord.
39 “‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you must celebrate a pilgrim festival of the Lord for seven days. On the first day is a complete rest and on the eighth day is complete rest. 40 On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees—palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook—and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days. 41 You must celebrate it as a pilgrim festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you must celebrate it in the seventh month. 42 You must live in temporary shelters for seven days; every native citizen in Israel must live in shelters, 43 so that your future generations may know that I made the Israelites live in shelters when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’”
44 So Moses spoke to the Israelites about the appointed times of the Lord.
Psalms 30
1 I will praise you, O Lord, for you lifted me up,
and did not allow my enemies to gloat over me.
2 O Lord my God,
I cried out to you and you healed me.
3 O Lord, you pulled me up from Sheol;
you rescued me from among those descending into the grave.
4 Sing to the Lord, you faithful followers of his;
give thanks to his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a brief moment,
and his good favor restores one’s life.
One may experience sorrow during the night,
but joy arrives in the morning.
6 In my self-confidence I said,
“I will never be shaken.”
7 O Lord, in your good favor you made me secure.
Then you rejected me and I was terrified.
8 To you, O Lord, I cried out;
I begged the Lord for mercy:
9 “What profit is there in taking my life,
in my descending into the Pit?
Can the dust of the grave praise you?
Can it declare your loyalty?
10 Hear, O Lord, and have mercy on me.
O Lord, deliver me.”
11 Then you turned my lament into dancing;
you removed my sackcloth and covered me with joy.
12 So now my heart will sing to you and not be silent;
O Lord my God, I will always give thanks to you.
Ecclesiastes 6
1 Here is another misfortune that I have seen on earth,
and it weighs heavily on people:
2 God gives a man riches, property, and wealth
so that he lacks nothing that his heart desires,
yet God does not enable him to enjoy the fruit of his labor—
instead, someone else enjoys it!
This is fruitless and a grave misfortune.
3 Even if a man fathers a hundred children and lives many years,
even if he lives a long, long time, but cannot enjoy his prosperity—
even if he were to live forever—
I would say, “A stillborn child is better off than he is.”
4 Though the stillborn child came into the world for no reason and departed into darkness,
though its name is shrouded in darkness,
5 though it never saw the light of day nor knew anything,
yet it has more rest than that man—
6 if he should live a thousand years twice, yet does not enjoy his prosperity.
For both of them die!
7 All man’s labor is for nothing more than to fill his stomach—
yet his appetite is never satisfied!
8 So what advantage does a wise man have over a fool?
And what advantage does a pauper gain by knowing how to survive?
9 It is better to be content with what the eyes can see
than for one’s heart always to crave more.
This continual longing is futile—like chasing the wind.
10 Whatever has happened was foreordained,
and what happens to a person was also foreknown.
It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate
because God is more powerful than he is.
11 The more one argues with words, the less he accomplishes.
How does that benefit him?
12 For no one knows what is best for a person during his life—
during the few days of his fleeting life—
for they pass away like a shadow.
Nor can anyone tell him what the future will hold for him on earth.
2 Timothy 2
1 So you, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2 And what you heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be competent to teach others as well. 3 Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No one in military service gets entangled in matters of everyday life; otherwise he will not please the one who recruited him. 5 Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he will not be crowned as the winner unless he competes according to the rules. 6 The farmer who works hard ought to have the first share of the crops. 7 Think about what I am saying and the Lord will give you understanding of all this.
8 Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, a descendant of David; such is my gospel, 9 for which I suffer hardship to the point of imprisonment as a criminal, but God’s message is not imprisoned! 10 So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God, that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory. 11 This saying is trustworthy:
If we died with him, we will also live with him.
12 If we endure, we will also reign with him.
If we deny him, he will also deny us.
13 If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, since he cannot deny himself.
14 Remind people of these things and solemnly charge them before the Lord not to wrangle over words. This is of no benefit; it just brings ruin on those who listen. 15 Make every effort to present yourself before God as a proven worker who does not need to be ashamed, teaching the message of truth accurately. 16 But avoid profane chatter, because those occupied with it will stray further and further into ungodliness, 17 and their message will spread its infection like gangrene. Hymenaeus and Philetus are in this group. 18 They have strayed from the truth by saying that the resurrection has already occurred, and they are undermining some people’s faith. 19 However, God’s solid foundation remains standing, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from evil.”
20 Now in a wealthy home there are not only gold and silver vessels, but also ones made of wood and of clay, and some are for honorable use, but others for ignoble use. 21 So if someone cleanses himself of such behavior, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. 22 But keep away from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace, in company with others who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23 But reject foolish and ignorant controversies, because you know they breed infighting. 24 And the Lord’s slave must not engage in heated disputes but be kind toward all, an apt teacher, patient, 25 correcting opponents with gentleness. Perhaps God will grant them repentance and then knowledge of the truth 26 and they will come to their senses and escape the devil’s trap where they are held captive to do his will.
