Monday, 08 January

10.   Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11.   And it came to pass, when he was close to entering Egypt, that he said to Sarai his wife, "Indeed I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. 12.   "Therefore it will happen, when the Egyptians see you, that they will say, ‘This is his wife’; and they will kill me, but they will let you live. 13.   "Please say you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that I may live because of you." 14.   So it was, when Abram came into Egypt, that the Egyptians saw the woman, that she was very beautiful. 15.   The princes of Pharaoh also saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken to Pharaoh’s house. 16.   He treated Abram well for her sake. He had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys, and camels. 17.   But the LORD plagued Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. 18.   And Pharaoh called Abram and said, "What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19.   "Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’? I might have taken her as my wife. Now therefore, here is your wife; take her and go your way." 20.   So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him; and they sent him away, with his wife and all that he had.

1.   Then Abram went up from Egypt, he and his wife and all that he had, and Lot with him, to the South. 2.   Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. 3.   And he went on his journey from the South as far as Bethel, to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Bethel and Ai, 4.   to the place of the altar which he had made there at first. And there Abram called on the name of the LORD. 5.   Lot also, who went with Abram, had flocks and herds and tents. 6.   Now the land was not able to support them, that they might dwell together, for their possessions were so great that they could not dwell together. 7.   And there was strife between the herdsmen of Abram’s livestock and the herdsmen of Lot’s livestock. The Canaanites and the Perizzites then dwelt in the land. 8.   So Abram said to Lot, "Please let there be no strife between you and me, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen; for we are brethren. 9.   " Is not the whole land before you? Please separate from me. If you take the left, then I will go to the right; or, if you go to the right, then I will go to the left." 10.   And Lot lifted his eyes and saw all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere (before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah) like the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt as you go toward Zoar. 11.   Then Lot chose for himself all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east. And they separated from each other. 12.   Abram dwelt in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelt in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent even as far as Sodom. 13.   But the men of Sodom were exceedingly wicked and sinful against the LORD. 14.   And the LORD said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: "Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are––northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15.   "for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16.   "And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17.   "Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you." 18.   Then Abram moved his tent, and went and dwelt by the terebinth trees of Mamre, which are in Hebron, and built an altar there to the LORD.

1.   When these things were done, the leaders came to me, saying, "The people of Israel and the priests and the Levites have not separated themselves from the peoples of the lands, with respect to the abominations of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Ammonites, the Moabites, the Egyptians, and the Amorites. 2.   "For they have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, so that the holy seed is mixed with the peoples of those lands. Indeed, the hand of the leaders and rulers has been foremost in this trespass." 3.   So when I heard this thing, I tore my garment and my robe, and plucked out some of the hair of my head and beard, and sat down astonished. 4.   Then everyone who trembled at the words of the God of Israel assembled to me, because of the transgression of those who had been carried away captive, and I sat astonished until the evening sacrifice. 5.   At the evening sacrifice I arose from my fasting; and having torn my garment and my robe, I fell on my knees and spread out my hands to the LORD my God. 6.   And I said: "O my God, I am too ashamed and humiliated to lift up my face to You, my God; for our iniquities have risen higher than our heads, and our guilt has grown up to the heavens. 7.   "Since the days of our fathers to this day we have been very guilty, and for our iniquities we, our kings, and our priests have been delivered into the hand of the kings of the lands, to the sword, to captivity, to plunder, and to humiliation, as it is this day. 8.   "And now for a little while grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9.   "For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem. 10.   "And now, O our God, what shall we say after this? For we have forsaken Your commandments, 11.   "which You commanded by Your servants the prophets, saying, ‘The land which you are entering to possess is an unclean land, with the uncleanness of the peoples of the lands, with their abominations which have filled it from one end to another with their impurity. 12.   ‘Now therefore, do not give your daughters as wives for their sons, nor take their daughters to your sons; and never seek their peace or prosperity, that you may be strong and eat the good of the land, and leave it as an inheritance to your children forever.’ 13.   "And after all that has come upon us for our evil deeds and for our great guilt, since You our God have punished us less than our iniquities deserve , and have given us such deliverance as this, 14.   "should we again break Your commandments, and join in marriage with the people committing these abominations? Would You not be angry with us until You had consumed us , so that there would be no remnant or survivor? 15.   "O LORD God of Israel, You are righteous, for we are left as a remnant, as it is this day. Here we are before You, in our guilt, though no one can stand before You because of this!"

19.   "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20.   "but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21.   "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22.   "The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23.   "But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! 24.   "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. 25.   "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26.   "Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27.   "Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28.   "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29.   "and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30.   "Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31.   "Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32.   "For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33.   "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34.   "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.