Saturday, 19 October

1.   Thus says the LORD: "Keep justice, and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come, And My righteousness to be revealed. 2.   Blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who lays hold on it; Who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil." 3.   Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the LORD Speak, saying, "The LORD has utterly separated me from His people"; Nor let the eunuch say, "Here I am, a dry tree." 4.   For thus says the LORD: "To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, 5.   Even to them I will give in My house And within My walls a place and a name Better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name That shall not be cut off. 6.   "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants––Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant–– 7.   Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." 8.   The Lord GOD, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, says, "Yet I will gather to him Others besides those who are gathered to him." 9.   All you beasts of the field, come to devour, All you beasts in the forest. 10.   His watchmen are blind, They are all ignorant; They are all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. 11.   Yes, they are greedy dogs Which never have enough. And they are shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his own territory. 12.   "Come," one says , "I will bring wine, And we will fill ourselves with intoxicating drink; Tomorrow will be as today, And much more abundant."

1.   The righteous perishes, And no man takes it to heart; Merciful men are taken away, While no one considers That the righteous is taken away from evil. 2.   He shall enter into peace; They shall rest in their beds, Each one walking in his uprightness. 3.   "But come here, You sons of the sorceress, You offspring of the adulterer and the harlot! 4.   Whom do you ridicule? Against whom do you make a wide mouth And stick out the tongue? Are you not children of transgression, Offspring of falsehood, 5.   Inflaming yourselves with gods under every green tree, Slaying the children in the valleys, Under the clefts of the rocks? 6.   Among the smooth stones of the stream Is your portion; They, they, are your lot! Even to them you have poured a drink offering, You have offered a grain offering. Should I receive comfort in these? 7.   "On a lofty and high mountain You have set your bed; Even there you went up To offer sacrifice. 8.   Also behind the doors and their posts You have set up your remembrance; For you have uncovered yourself to those other than Me, And have gone up to them; You have enlarged your bed And made a covenant with them; You have loved their bed, Where you saw their nudity. 9.   You went to the king with ointment, And increased your perfumes; You sent your messengers far off, And even descended to Sheol. 10.   You are wearied in the length of your way; Yet you did not say, ‘There is no hope.’ You have found the life of your hand; Therefore you were not grieved. 11.   "And of whom have you been afraid, or feared, That you have lied And not remembered Me, Nor taken it to your heart? Is it not because I have held My peace from of old That you do not fear Me? 12.   I will declare your righteousness And your works, For they will not profit you. 13.   When you cry out, Let your collection of idols deliver you. But the wind will carry them all away, A breath will take them . But he who puts his trust in Me shall possess the land, And shall inherit My holy mountain." 14.   And one shall say, "Heap it up! Heap it up! Prepare the way, Take the stumbling block out of the way of My people." 15.   For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place , With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. 16.   For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would fail before Me, And the souls which I have made. 17.   For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. 18.   I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners. 19.   "I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near," Says the LORD, "And I will heal him." 20.   But the wicked are like the troubled sea, When it cannot rest, Whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21.   " There is no peace," Says my God, "for the wicked."

1.   "Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. 2.   Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God. 3.   ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say , ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ "In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers. 4.   Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high. 5.   Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD? 6.   " Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7.   Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh? 8.   Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. 9.   Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am .’ "If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, 10.   If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday. 11.   The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. 12.   Those from among you Shall build the old waste places; You shall raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In. 13.   "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And call the Sabbath a delight, The holy day of the LORD honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, 14.   Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the LORD has spoken."

1.   Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2.   elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied. 3.   Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4.   to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5.   who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6.   In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7.   that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8.   whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him , yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9.   receiving the end of your faith––the salvation of your souls. 10.   Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, 11.   searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 12.   To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven––things which angels desire to look into. 13.   Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; 14.   as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; 15.   but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16.   because it is written, "Be holy, for I am holy." 17.   And if you call on the Father, who without partiality judges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves throughout the time of your stay here in fear; 18.   knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, 19.   but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. 20.   He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21.   who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. 22.   Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23.   having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, 24.   because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, 25.   But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.