1 Chronicles 16
1 They brought the ark of God and put it in the middle of the tent David had pitched for it. Then they offered burnt sacrifices and peace offerings before God. 2 When David finished offering burnt sacrifices and peace offerings, he pronounced a blessing over the people in the Lord’s name. 3 He then handed out to each Israelite man and woman a loaf of bread, a date cake, and a raisin cake. 4 He appointed some of the Levites to serve before the ark of the Lord, to offer prayers, songs of thanks, and hymns to the Lord God of Israel. 5 Asaph was the leader and Zechariah second-in-command, followed by Jeiel, Shemiramoth, Jehiel, Mattithiah, Eliab, Benaiah, Obed-Edom, and Jeiel. They were to play stringed instruments, Asaph was to sound the cymbals, 6 and the priests Benaiah and Jahaziel were to blow trumpets regularly before the ark of God’s covenant.
7 That day David first gave to Asaph and his colleagues this song of thanks to the Lord.
8 Give thanks to the Lord!
Call on his name!
Make known his accomplishments among the nations.
9 Sing to him! Make music to him!
Tell about all his miraculous deeds.
10 Boast about his holy name.
Let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.
11 Seek the Lord and the strength he gives.
Seek his presence continually!
12 Recall the miraculous deeds he performed,
his mighty acts and the judgments he decreed,
13 O children of Israel, God’s servant,
you descendants of Jacob, God’s chosen ones!
14 He is the Lord our God;
he carries out judgment throughout the earth.
15 Remember continually his covenantal decree,
the promise he made to a thousand generations—
16 the promise he made to Abraham,
the promise he made by oath to Isaac!
17 He gave it to Jacob as a decree,
to Israel as a lasting promise,
18 saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
as the portion of your inheritance.”
19 When they were few in number,
just a very few, and foreign residents within it,
20 they wandered from nation to nation,
and from one kingdom to another.
21 He let no one oppress them;
he disciplined kings for their sake,
22 saying, “Don’t touch my anointed ones!
Don’t harm my prophets!”
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Announce every day how he delivers.
24 Tell the nations about his splendor,
tell all the nations about his miraculous deeds.
25 For the Lord is great and certainly worthy of praise,
he is more awesome than all gods.
26 For all the gods of the nations are worthless,
but the Lord made the heavens.
27 Majestic splendor emanates from him,
he is the source of strength and joy.
28 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the nations,
ascribe to the Lord splendor and strength!
29 Ascribe to the Lord the splendor he deserves!
Bring an offering and enter his presence!
Worship the Lord in holy attire!
30 Tremble before him, all the earth!
The world is established, it cannot be moved.
31 Let the heavens rejoice, and the earth be happy!
Let the nations say, “The Lord reigns!”
32 Let the sea and everything in it shout!
Let the fields and everything in them celebrate!
33 Then let the trees of the forest shout with joy before the Lord,
for he comes to judge the earth!
34 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good
and his loyal love endures.
35 Say this prayer: “Deliver us, O God who delivers us!
Gather us! Rescue us from the nations!
Then we will give thanks to your holy name,
and boast about your praiseworthy deeds.”
36 May the Lord God of Israel be praised,
in the future and forevermore.
Then all the people said, “We agree! Praise the Lord.”
37 David left Asaph and his colleagues there before the ark of the Lord’s covenant to serve before the ark regularly and fulfill each day’s requirements, 38 including Obed-Edom and sixty-eight colleagues. Obed-Edom son of Jeduthun and Hosah were gatekeepers. 39 Zadok the priest and his fellow priests served before the Lord’s tabernacle at the worship center in Gibeon, 40 regularly offering burnt sacrifices to the Lord on the altar for burnt sacrifice, morning and evening, according to what is prescribed in the law of the Lord which he charged Israel to observe. 41 Joining them were Heman, Jeduthun, and the rest of those chosen and designated by name to give thanks to the Lord. (For his loyal love endures!) 42 Heman and Jeduthun were in charge of the music, including the trumpets, cymbals, and the other musical instruments used in praising God. The sons of Jeduthun guarded the entrance.
43 Then all the people returned to their homes, and David went to pronounce a blessing on his family.
James 3
1 Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, because you know that we will be judged more strictly. 2 For we all stumble in many ways. If someone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect individual, able to control the entire body as well. 3 And if we put bits into the mouths of horses to get them to obey us, then we guide their entire bodies. 4 Look at ships too: Though they are so large and driven by harsh winds, they are steered by a tiny rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination directs. 5 So too the tongue is a small part of the body, yet it has great pretensions. Think how small a flame sets a huge forest ablaze. 6 And the tongue is a fire! The tongue represents the world of wrongdoing among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the entire body and sets fire to the course of human existence—and is set on fire by hell.
7 For every kind of animal, bird, reptile, and sea creature is subdued and has been subdued by humankind. 8 But no human being can subdue the tongue; it is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse people made in God’s image. 10 From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. These things should not be so, my brothers and sisters. 11 A spring does not pour out fresh water and bitter water from the same opening, does it? 12 Can a fig tree produce olives, my brothers and sisters, or a vine produce figs? Neither can a salt water spring produce fresh water.
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct he should show his works done in the gentleness that wisdom brings. 14 But if you have bitter jealousy and selfishness in your hearts, do not boast and tell lies against the truth. 15 Such wisdom does not come from above but is earthly, natural, demonic. 16 For where there is jealousy and selfishness, there is disorder and every evil practice. 17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial, and not hypocritical. 18 And the fruit that consists of righteousness is planted in peace among those who make peace.
Obadiah
1 The vision that Obadiah saw.
The Sovereign Lord says this concerning Edom:
We have heard a report from the Lord.
An envoy was sent among the nations, saying,
“Arise! Let us make war against Edom!”
2 The Lord says, “Look! I will make you a weak nation;
you will be greatly despised!
3 Your presumptuous heart has deceived you—
you who reside in the safety of the rocky cliffs,
whose home is high in the mountains.
You think to yourself,
‘No one can bring me down to the ground!’
4 Even if you were to soar high like an eagle,
even if you were to make your nest among the stars,
I can bring you down even from there!” says the Lord.
5 “If thieves came to rob you during the night,
they would steal only as much as they wanted.
If grape pickers came to harvest your vineyards,
they would leave some behind for the poor.
But you will be totally destroyed!
6 How the people of Esau will be thoroughly plundered!
Their hidden valuables will be ransacked!
7 All your allies will force you from your homeland!
Your treaty partners will deceive you and overpower you.
Your trusted friends will set an ambush for you
that will take you by surprise!
8 At that time,” the Lord says,
“I will destroy the wise sages of Edom,
the advisers from Esau’s mountain.
9 Your warriors will be shattered, O Teman,
so that everyone will be destroyed from Esau’s mountain!
10 “Because you violently slaughtered your relatives, the people of Jacob,
shame will cover you, and you will be destroyed forever.
11 You stood aloof while strangers took his army captive,
and foreigners advanced to his gates.
When they cast lots over Jerusalem,
you behaved as though you were in league with them.
12 You should not have gloated when your relatives suffered calamity.
You should not have rejoiced over the people of Judah when they were destroyed.
You should not have boasted when they suffered adversity.
13 You should not have entered the city of my people when they experienced distress.
You should not have joined in gloating over their misfortune when they suffered distress.
You should not have looted their wealth when they endured distress.
14 You should not have stood at the fork in the road to slaughter those trying to escape.
You should not have captured their refugees when they suffered adversity.
15 “For the day of the Lord is approaching for all the nations!
Just as you have done, so it will be done to you.
You will get exactly what your deeds deserve.
16 For just as you have drunk on my holy mountain,
so all the nations will drink continually.
They will drink, and they will gulp down;
they will be as though they had never been.
17 But on Mount Zion there will be a remnant of those who escape,
and it will be a holy place once again.
The descendants of Jacob will conquer
those who had conquered them.
18 The descendants of Jacob will be a fire,
and the descendants of Joseph a flame.
The descendants of Esau will be like stubble.
They will burn them up and devour them.
There will not be a single survivor of the descendants of Esau!”
Indeed, the Lord has spoken it.
19 The people of the Negev will take possession of Esau’s mountain,
and the people of the foothills will take
possession of the land of the Philistines.
They will also take possession of the territory of Ephraim and the territory of Samaria,
and the people of Benjamin will take possession of Gilead.
20 The exiles of this fortress of the people of Israel
will take possession of what belongs to
the people of Canaan, as far as Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
will take possession of the towns of the Negev.
21 Those who have been delivered will go up on Mount Zion
in order to rule over Esau’s mountain.
Then the Lord will reign as King!
Luke 5
1 Now Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing around him to hear the word of God. 2 He saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gotten out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, which was Simon’s, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then Jesus sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and lower your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we worked hard all night and caught nothing! But at your word I will lower the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets started to tear. 7 So they motioned to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they were about to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For Peter and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, Zebedee’s sons, who were Simon’s business partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people!” 11 So when they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.
12 While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came to him who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed down with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 13 So he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing. Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 14 Then he ordered the man to tell no one, but commanded him, “Go and show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering for your cleansing, as Moses commanded, as a testimony to them.” 15 But the news about him spread even more, and large crowds were gathering together to hear him and to be healed of their illnesses. 16 Yet Jesus himself frequently withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.
17 Now on one of those days, while he was teaching, there were Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting nearby (who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem), and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. 18 Just then some men showed up, carrying a paralyzed man on a stretcher. They were trying to bring him in and place him before Jesus. 19 But since they found no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down on the stretcher through the roof tiles right in front of Jesus. 20 When Jesus saw their faith he said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” 21 Then the experts in the law and the Pharisees began to think to themselves, “Who is this man who is uttering blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 22 When Jesus perceived their hostile thoughts, he said to them, “Why are you raising objections within yourselves? 23 Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Stand up and walk’? 24 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralyzed man—“I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher and go home.” 25 Immediately he stood up before them, picked up the stretcher he had been lying on, and went home, glorifying God. 26 Then astonishment seized them all, and they glorified God. They were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen incredible things today.”
27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax booth. “Follow me,” he said to him. 28 And he got up and followed him, leaving everything behind.
29 Then Levi gave a great banquet in his house for Jesus, and there was a large crowd of tax collectors and others sitting at the table with them. 30 But the Pharisees and their experts in the law complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “Those who are well don’t need a physician, but those who are sick do. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
33 Then they said to him, “John’s disciples frequently fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours continue to eat and drink.” 34 So Jesus said to them, “You cannot make the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? 35 But those days are coming, and when the bridegroom is taken from them, at that time they will fast.” 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a patch from a new garment and sews it on an old garment. If he does, he will have torn the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 Instead new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for he says, ‘The old is good enough.’”
