Friday, 31 May

1.   "If there arises among you a prophet or a dreamer of dreams, and he gives you a sign or a wonder, 2.   "and the sign or the wonder comes to pass, of which he spoke to you, saying, ‘Let us go after other gods’ ––which you have not known––‘and let us serve them,’ 3.   "you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams, for the LORD your God is testing you to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4.   "You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear Him, and keep His commandments and obey His voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. 5.   "But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has spoken in order to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of bondage, to entice you from the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall put away the evil from your midst. 6.   "If your brother, the son of your mother, your son or your daughter, the wife of your bosom, or your friend who is as your own soul, secretly entices you, saying, ‘Let us go and serve other gods,’ which you have not known, neither you nor your fathers, 7.   "of the gods of the people which are all around you, near to you or far off from you, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth, 8.   "you shall not consent to him or listen to him, nor shall your eye pity him, nor shall you spare him or conceal him; 9.   "but you shall surely kill him; your hand shall be first against him to put him to death, and afterward the hand of all the people. 10.   "And you shall stone him with stones until he dies, because he sought to entice you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. 11.   "So all Israel shall hear and fear, and not again do such wickedness as this among you. 12.   "If you hear someone in one of your cities, which the LORD your God gives you to dwell in, saying, 13.   ‘Corrupt men have gone out from among you and enticed the inhabitants of their city, saying, "Let us go and serve other gods"’ ––which you have not known–– 14.   "then you shall inquire, search out, and ask diligently. And if it is indeed true and certain that such an abomination was committed among you, 15.   "you shall surely strike the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword––utterly destroying it, all that is in it and its livestock, with the edge of the sword. 16.   "And you shall gather all its plunder into the middle of the street, and completely burn with fire the city and all its plunder, for the LORD your God. It shall be a heap forever; it shall not be built again. 17.   "So none of the accursed things shall remain in your hand, that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of His anger and show you mercy, have compassion on you and multiply you, just as He swore to your fathers, 18.   "because you have listened to the voice of the LORD your God, to keep all His commandments which I command you today, to do what is right in the eyes of the LORD your God.

1.   For I considered all this in my heart, so that I could declare it all: that the righteous and the wise and their works are in the hand of God. People know neither love nor hatred by anything they see before them. 2.   All things come alike to all: One event happens to the righteous and the wicked; To the good, the clean, and the unclean; To him who sacrifices and him who does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; He who takes an oath as he who fears an oath. 3.   This is an evil in all that is done under the sun: that one thing happens to all. Truly the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil; madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead. 4.   But for him who is joined to all the living there is hope, for a living dog is better than a dead lion. 5.   For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. 6.   Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; Nevermore will they have a share In anything done under the sun. 7.   Go, eat your bread with joy, And drink your wine with a merry heart; For God has already accepted your works. 8.   Let your garments always be white, And let your head lack no oil. 9.   Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your vain life which He has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity; for that is your portion in life, and in the labor which you perform under the sun. 10.   Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work or device or knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you are going. 11.   I returned and saw under the sun that––The race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to men of understanding, Nor favor to men of skill; But time and chance happen to them all. 12.   For man also does not know his time: Like fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil time, When it falls suddenly upon them. 13.   This wisdom I have also seen under the sun, and it seemed great to me: 14.   There was a little city with few men in it; and a great king came against it, besieged it, and built great snares around it. 15.   Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one remembered that same poor man. 16.   Then I said: "Wisdom is better than strength. Nevertheless the poor man’s wisdom is despised, And his words are not heard. 17.   Words of the wise, spoken quietly, should be heard Rather than the shout of a ruler of fools. 18.   Wisdom is better than weapons of war; But one sinner destroys much good."

1.   Dead flies putrefy the perfumer’s ointment, And cause it to give off a foul odor; So does a little folly to one respected for wisdom and honor. 2.   A wise man’s heart is at his right hand, But a fool’s heart at his left. 3.   Even when a fool walks along the way, He lacks wisdom, And he shows everyone that he is a fool. 4.   If the spirit of the ruler rises against you, Do not leave your post; For conciliation pacifies great offenses. 5.   There is an evil I have seen under the sun, As an error proceeding from the ruler: 6.   Folly is set in great dignity, While the rich sit in a lowly place. 7.   I have seen servants on horses, While princes walk on the ground like servants. 8.   He who digs a pit will fall into it, And whoever breaks through a wall will be bitten by a serpent. 9.   He who quarries stones may be hurt by them, And he who splits wood may be endangered by it. 10.   If the ax is dull, And one does not sharpen the edge, Then he must use more strength; But wisdom brings success. 11.   A serpent may bite when it is not charmed; The babbler is no different. 12.   The words of a wise man’s mouth are gracious, But the lips of a fool shall swallow him up; 13.   The words of his mouth begin with foolishness, And the end of his talk is raving madness. 14.   A fool also multiplies words. No man knows what is to be; Who can tell him what will be after him? 15.   The labor of fools wearies them, For they do not even know how to go to the city! 16.   Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, And your princes feast in the morning! 17.   Blessed are you, O land, when your king is the son of nobles, And your princes feast at the proper time––For strength and not for drunkenness! 18.   Because of laziness the building decays, And through idleness of hands the house leaks. 19.   A feast is made for laughter, And wine makes merry; But money answers everything. 20.   Do not curse the king, even in your thought; Do not curse the rich, even in your bedroom; For a bird of the air may carry your voice, And a bird in flight may tell the matter.

1.   And He entered the synagogue again, and a man was there who had a withered hand. 2.   So they watched Him closely, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3.   And He said to the man who had the withered hand, "Step forward." 4.   Then He said to them, "Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they kept silent. 5.   And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other. 6.   Then the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. 7.   But Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea. And a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judea 8.   and Jerusalem and Idumea and beyond the Jordan; and those from Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they heard how many things He was doing, came to Him. 9.   So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him. 10.   For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about Him to touch Him. 11.   And the unclean spirits, whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out, saying, "You are the Son of God." 12.   But He sternly warned them that they should not make Him known. 13.   And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him. 14.   Then He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach, 15.   and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons: 16.   Simon, to whom He gave the name Peter; 17.   James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James, to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; 18.   Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Cananite; 19.   and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him. And they went into a house.