Sunday, 21 July

1.   Again the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. 2.   Now there was a certain man from Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren and had no children. 3.   And the Angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, "Indeed now, you are barren and have borne no children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. 4.   "Now therefore, please be careful not to drink wine or similar drink, and not to eat anything unclean. 5.   "For behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. And no razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb; and he shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines." 6.   So the woman came and told her husband, saying, "A Man of God came to me, and His countenance was like the countenance of the Angel of God, very awesome; but I did not ask Him where He was from, and He did not tell me His name. 7.   "And He said to me, ‘Behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now drink no wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb to the day of his death.’" 8.   Then Manoah prayed to the LORD, and said, "O my Lord, please let the Man of God whom You sent come to us again and teach us what we shall do for the child who will be born." 9.   And God listened to the voice of Manoah, and the Angel of God came to the woman again as she was sitting in the field; but Manoah her husband was not with her. 10.   Then the woman ran in haste and told her husband, and said to him, "Look, the Man who came to me the other day has just now appeared to me!" 11.   So Manoah arose and followed his wife. When he came to the Man, he said to Him, "Are You the Man who spoke to this woman?" And He said, "I am ." 12.   Manoah said, "Now let Your words come to pass ! What will be the boy’s rule of life, and his work?" 13.   So the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Of all that I said to the woman let her be careful. 14.   "She may not eat anything that comes from the vine, nor may she drink wine or similar drink, nor eat anything unclean. All that I commanded her let her observe." 15.   Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "Please let us detain You, and we will prepare a young goat for You." 16.   And the Angel of the LORD said to Manoah, "Though you detain Me, I will not eat your food. But if you offer a burnt offering, you must offer it to the LORD." (For Manoah did not know He was the Angel of the LORD.) 17.   Then Manoah said to the Angel of the LORD, "What is Your name, that when Your words come to pass we may honor You?" 18.   And the Angel of the LORD said to him, "Why do you ask My name, seeing it is wonderful?" 19.   So Manoah took the young goat with the grain offering, and offered it upon the rock to the LORD. And He did a wondrous thing while Manoah and his wife looked on–– 20.   it happened as the flame went up toward heaven from the altar––the Angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar! When Manoah and his wife saw this , they fell on their faces to the ground. 21.   When the Angel of the LORD appeared no more to Manoah and his wife, then Manoah knew that He was the Angel of the LORD. 22.   And Manoah said to his wife, "We shall surely die, because we have seen God!" 23.   But his wife said to him, "If the LORD had desired to kill us, He would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering from our hands, nor would He have shown us all these things , nor would He have told us such things as these at this time." 24.   So the woman bore a son and called his name Samson; and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. 25.   And the Spirit of the LORD began to move upon him at Mahaneh Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.

1.   Now Samson went down to Timnah, and saw a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines. 2.   So he went up and told his father and mother, saying, "I have seen a woman in Timnah of the daughters of the Philistines; now therefore, get her for me as a wife." 3.   Then his father and mother said to him, " Is there no woman among the daughters of your brethren, or among all my people, that you must go and get a wife from the uncircumcised Philistines?" And Samson said to his father, "Get her for me, for she pleases me well." 4.   But his father and mother did not know that it was of the LORD––that He was seeking an occasion to move against the Philistines. For at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel. 5.   So Samson went down to Timnah with his father and mother, and came to the vineyards of Timnah. Now to his surprise, a young lion came roaring against him. 6.   And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he tore the lion apart as one would have torn apart a young goat, though he had nothing in his hand. But he did not tell his father or his mother what he had done. 7.   Then he went down and talked with the woman; and she pleased Samson well. 8.   After some time, when he returned to get her, he turned aside to see the carcass of the lion. And behold, a swarm of bees and honey were in the carcass of the lion. 9.   He took some of it in his hands and went along, eating. When he came to his father and mother, he gave some to them, and they also ate. But he did not tell them that he had taken the honey out of the carcass of the lion. 10.   So his father went down to the woman. And Samson gave a feast there, for young men used to do so. 11.   And it happened, when they saw him, that they brought thirty companions to be with him. 12.   Then Samson said to them, "Let me pose a riddle to you. If you can correctly solve and explain it to me within the seven days of the feast, then I will give you thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing. 13.   "But if you cannot explain it to me, then you shall give me thirty linen garments and thirty changes of clothing." And they said to him, "Pose your riddle, that we may hear it." 14.   So he said to them: "Out of the eater came something to eat, And out of the strong came something sweet." Now for three days they could not explain the riddle. 15.   But it came to pass on the seventh day that they said to Samson’s wife, "Entice your husband, that he may explain the riddle to us, or else we will burn you and your father’s house with fire. Have you invited us in order to take what is ours? Is that not so ?" 16.   Then Samson’s wife wept on him, and said, "You only hate me! You do not love me! You have posed a riddle to the sons of my people, but you have not explained it to me." And he said to her, "Look, I have not explained it to my father or my mother; so should I explain it to you?" 17.   Now she had wept on him the seven days while their feast lasted. And it happened on the seventh day that he told her, because she pressed him so much. Then she explained the riddle to the sons of her people. 18.   So the men of the city said to him on the seventh day before the sun went down: "What is sweeter than honey? And what is stronger than a lion?" And he said to them: "If you had not plowed with my heifer, You would not have solved my riddle!" 19.   Then the Spirit of the LORD came upon him mightily, and he went down to Ashkelon and killed thirty of their men, took their apparel, and gave the changes of clothing to those who had explained the riddle. So his anger was aroused, and he went back up to his father’s house. 20.   And Samson’s wife was given to his companion, who had been his best man.

1.   "Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters; And you who have no money, Come, buy and eat. Yes, come, buy wine and milk Without money and without price. 2.   Why do you spend money for what is not bread, And your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And let your soul delight itself in abundance. 3.   Incline your ear, and come to Me. Hear, and your soul shall live; And I will make an everlasting covenant with you––The sure mercies of David. 4.   Indeed I have given him as a witness to the people, A leader and commander for the people. 5.   Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the LORD your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you." 6.   Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. 7.   Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. 8.   "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," says the LORD. 9.   "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. 10.   "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, 11.   So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. 12.   "For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. 13.   Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, And instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; And it shall be to the LORD for a name, For an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."

1.   Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, 2.   and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3.   that no one should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to this. 4.   For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5.   For this reason, when I could no longer endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and our labor might be in vain. 6.   But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as we also to see you–– 7.   therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were comforted concerning you by your faith. 8.   For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord. 9.   For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for your sake before our God, 10.   night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith? 11.   Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12.   And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13.   so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.