Saturday, 30 November

1.   The hand of the LORD came upon me and brought me out in the Spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley; and it was full of bones. 2.   Then He caused me to pass by them all around, and behold, there were very many in the open valley; and indeed they were very dry. 3.   And He said to me, "Son of man, can these bones live?" So I answered, "O Lord GOD, You know." 4.   Again He said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, ‘O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! 5.   ‘Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: "Surely I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live. 6.   "I will put sinews on you and bring flesh upon you, cover you with skin and put breath in you; and you shall live. Then you shall know that I am the LORD."’" 7.   So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and suddenly a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8.   Indeed, as I looked, the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them over; but there was no breath in them. 9.   Also He said to me, "Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the breath, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on these slain, that they may live."’" 10.   So I prophesied as He commanded me, and breath came into them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army. 11.   Then He said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They indeed say, ‘Our bones are dry, our hope is lost, and we ourselves are cut off!’ 12.   "Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13.   "Then you shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your graves. 14.   "I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it and performed it ," says the LORD.’" 15.   Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 16.   "As for you, son of man, take a stick for yourself and write on it: ‘For Judah and for the children of Israel, his companions.’ Then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel, his companions.’ 17.   "Then join them one to another for yourself into one stick, and they will become one in your hand. 18.   "And when the children of your people speak to you, saying, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’ –– 19.   "say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel, his companions; and I will join them with it, with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they will be one in My hand."’ 20.   "And the sticks on which you write will be in your hand before their eyes. 21.   "Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; 22.   "and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. 23.   "They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. 24.   "David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them. 25.   "Then they shall dwell in the land that I have given to Jacob My servant, where your fathers dwelt; and they shall dwell there, they, their children, and their children’s children, forever; and My servant David shall be their prince forever. 26.   "Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them, and it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27.   "My tabernacle also shall be with them; indeed I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 28.   "The nations also will know that I, the LORD, sanctify Israel, when My sanctuary is in their midst forevermore."’"

1.   Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2.   "Son of man, set your face against Gog, of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, 3.   "and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. 4.   "I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. 5.   "Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; 6.   "Gomer and all its troops; the house of Togarmah from the far north and all its troops––many people are with you. 7.   "Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. 8.   "After many days you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword and gathered from many people on the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them dwell safely. 9.   "You will ascend, coming like a storm, covering the land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you." 10.   ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: 11.   "You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of unwalled villages; I will go to a peaceful people, who dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’ –– 12.   "to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. 13.   "Sheba, Dedan, the merchants of Tarshish, and all their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’"’ 14.   "Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely, will you not know it ? 15.   "Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. 16.   "You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may know Me, when I am hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes." 17.   ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them? 18.   "And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel," says the Lord GOD, " that My fury will show in My face. 19.   "For in My jealousy and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ‘Surely in that day there shall be a great earthquake in the land of Israel, 20.   ‘so that the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ 21.   "I will call for a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains," says the Lord GOD. "Every man’s sword will be against his brother. 22.   "And I will bring him to judgment with pestilence and bloodshed; I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 23.   "Thus I will magnify Myself and sanctify Myself, and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the LORD."’

1.   "And you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; 2.   "and I will turn you around and lead you on, bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. 3.   "Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. 4.   "You shall fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. 5.   "You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken," says the Lord GOD. 6.   "And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live in security in the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the LORD. 7.   "So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them profane My holy name anymore. Then the nations shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel. 8.   "Surely it is coming, and it shall be done," says the Lord GOD. "This is the day of which I have spoken. 9.   "Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. 10.   "They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them," says the Lord GOD. 11.   "It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of Hamon Gog. 12.   "For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, in order to cleanse the land. 13.   "Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain renown for it on the day that I am glorified," says the Lord GOD. 14.   "They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. 15.   "The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. 16.   " The name of the city will also be Hamonah. Thus they shall cleanse the land."’ 17.   "And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord GOD, ‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field: "Assemble yourselves and come; Gather together from all sides to My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you, A great sacrificial meal on the mountains of Israel, That you may eat flesh and drink blood. 18.   You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, Drink the blood of the princes of the earth, Of rams and lambs, Of goats and bulls, All of them fatlings of Bashan. 19.   You shall eat fat till you are full, And drink blood till you are drunk, At My sacrificial meal Which I am sacrificing for you. 20.   You shall be filled at My table With horses and riders, With mighty men And with all the men of war," says the Lord GOD. 21.   "I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and My hand which I have laid on them. 22.   "So the house of Israel shall know that I am the LORD their God from that day forward. 23.   "The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore I hid My face from them. I gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. 24.   "According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them."’ 25.   "Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: ‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name–– 26.   ‘after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. 27.   ‘When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, 28.   ‘then they shall know that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer. 29.   ‘And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD."

1.   Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. 2.   Then she ran and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him." 3.   Peter therefore went out, and the other disciple, and were going to the tomb. 4.   So they both ran together, and the other disciple outran Peter and came to the tomb first. 5.   And he, stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there ; yet he did not go in. 6.   Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there , 7.   and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. 8.   Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. 9.   For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. 10.   Then the disciples went away again to their own homes. 11.   But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb. 12.   And she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. 13.   Then they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him." 14.   Now when she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there , and did not know that it was Jesus. 15.   Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said to Him, "Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away." 16.   Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him, "Rabboni!" (which is to say, Teacher). 17.   Jesus said to her, "Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’" 18.   Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her. 19.   Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20.   When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21.   So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22.   And when He had said this, He breathed on them , and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23.   "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." 24.   Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. 25.   The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Lord." So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe." 26.   And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!" 27.   Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here , and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." 28.   And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Lord and my God!" 29.   Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." 30.   And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; 31.   but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.