Wednesday, 14 August

1.   Now the LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go; I am sending you to Jesse the Bethlehemite. For I have provided Myself a king among his sons." 2.   And Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears it , he will kill me." And the LORD said, "Take a heifer with you, and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.’ 3.   "Then invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do; you shall anoint for Me the one I name to you." 4.   So Samuel did what the LORD said, and went to Bethlehem. And the elders of the town trembled at his coming, and said, "Do you come peaceably?" 5.   And he said, "Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the LORD. Sanctify yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice." Then he consecrated Jesse and his sons, and invited them to the sacrifice. 6.   So it was, when they came, that he looked at Eliab and said, "Surely the LORD’S anointed is before Him." 7.   But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart." 8.   So Jesse called Abinadab, and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 9.   Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, "Neither has the LORD chosen this one." 10.   Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, "The LORD has not chosen these." 11.   And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?" Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep." And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him. For we will not sit down till he comes here." 12.   So he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, with bright eyes, and good–looking. And the LORD said, "Arise, anoint him; for this is the one!" 13.   Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel arose and went to Ramah. 14.   But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the LORD troubled him. 15.   And Saul’s servants said to him, "Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. 16.   "Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp; and it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well." 17.   So Saul said to his servants, "Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me." 18.   Then one of the servants answered and said, "Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the LORD is with him." 19.   Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, "Send me your son David, who is with the sheep." 20.   And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21.   So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 22.   Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, "Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight." 23.   And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

1.   The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts. 2.   "Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up. 3.   Their nobles have sent their lads for water; They went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; They were ashamed and confounded And covered their heads. 4.   Because the ground is parched, For there was no rain in the land, The plowmen were ashamed; They covered their heads. 5.   Yes, the deer also gave birth in the field, But left because there was no grass. 6.   And the wild donkeys stood in the desolate heights; They sniffed at the wind like jackals; Their eyes failed because there was no grass." 7.   O LORD, though our iniquities testify against us, Do it for Your name’s sake; For our backslidings are many, We have sinned against You. 8.   O the Hope of Israel, his Savior in time of trouble, Why should You be like a stranger in the land, And like a traveler who turns aside to tarry for a night? 9.   Why should You be like a man astonished, Like a mighty one who cannot save? Yet You, O LORD, are in our midst, And we are called by Your name; Do not leave us! 10.   Thus says the LORD to this people: "Thus they have loved to wander; They have not restrained their feet. Therefore the LORD does not accept them; He will remember their iniquity now, And punish their sins." 11.   Then the LORD said to me, "Do not pray for this people, for their good. 12.   "When they fast, I will not hear their cry; and when they offer burnt offering and grain offering, I will not accept them. But I will consume them by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence." 13.   Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, the prophets say to them, ‘You shall not see the sword, nor shall you have famine, but I will give you assured peace in this place.’" 14.   And the LORD said to me, "The prophets prophesy lies in My name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them; they prophesy to you a false vision, divination, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart. 15.   "Therefore thus says the LORD concerning the prophets who prophesy in My name, whom I did not send, and who say, ‘Sword and famine shall not be in this land’ ––‘By sword and famine those prophets shall be consumed! 16.   ‘And the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they will have no one to bury them––them nor their wives, their sons nor their daughters––for I will pour their wickedness on them.’ 17.   "Therefore you shall say this word to them: ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow. 18.   If I go out to the field, Then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’" 19.   Have You utterly rejected Judah? Has Your soul loathed Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace, but there was no good; And for the time of healing, and there was trouble. 20.   We acknowledge, O LORD, our wickedness And the iniquity of our fathers, For we have sinned against You. 21.   Do not abhor us , for Your name’s sake; Do not disgrace the throne of Your glory. Remember, do not break Your covenant with us. 22.   Are there any among the idols of the nations that can cause rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are You not He, O LORD our God? Therefore we will wait for You, Since You have made all these.

1.   Then the LORD said to me, " Even if Moses and Samuel stood before Me, My mind would not be favorable toward this people. Cast them out of My sight, and let them go forth. 2.   "And it shall be, if they say to you, ‘Where should we go?’ then you shall tell them, ‘Thus says the LORD: "Such as are for death, to death; And such as are for the sword, to the sword; And such as are for the famine, to the famine; And such as are for the captivity, to the captivity."’ 3.   "And I will appoint over them four forms of destruction ," says the LORD: "the sword to slay, the dogs to drag, the birds of the heavens and the beasts of the earth to devour and destroy. 4.   "I will hand them over to trouble, to all kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasseh the son of Hezekiah, king of Judah, for what he did in Jerusalem.

31.   Then He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. 32.   And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority. 33.   Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34.   saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are––the Holy One of God!" 35.   But Jesus rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. 36.   Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is ! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out." 37.   And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region. 38.   Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was sick with a high fever, and they made request of Him concerning her. 39.   So He stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them. 40.   When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. 41.   And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of God!" And He, rebuking them , did not allow them to speak, for they knew that He was the Christ. 42.   Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; 43.   but He said to them, "I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent." 44.   And He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.