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Jeremiah 38:1-6
Jeremiah in a Cistern
38 Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying, 2 “This is what the Lord says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’ 3 The Lord also says: ‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’”
4 So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!”
5 King Zedekiah agreed. “All right,” he said. “Do as you like. I can’t stop you.”
6 So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it.
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 12
1 God said to Abram, “Go from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father’s house, to the land that I will show you.
2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you, I will make your name great, and you will become a source of blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse he who curses you. All the families of the earth will be blessed using you as an example.”
4 Abram set out as God had directed him, and Lot went with him. Abram was in his 75th year when he left Charan.
5 Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their possessions that they had acquired, as well as the people they had acquired in Charan. They set out, heading toward Canaan, and they entered Canaan.
6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the location of Shechem, as far as Elon, the plain of Moreh. The Canaanites were then in the land.
7 God appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” Abram built an altar there and offered up a sacrifice to God, who appeared to him.
8 From there he moved on to the mountains east of Bethel and pitched his tent. Bethel was to the west and Ai to the east. He built an altar there, offered up a sacrifice on it, and invoked God.
9 Abram then continued on his way, moving steadily toward the south.
10 There was a famine in the land of Canaan. Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, since the famine in the land of Canaan had grown severe.
11 As he approached Egypt, Abram said to his wife Sarai, “Look, I know you now to be a woman of beautiful complexion.
12 When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife,’ and they will kill me, allowing you to live.
13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you. In this way, through you, my life will be spared.”
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Jeremiah 38:7-13
An Advocate Pleads for Justice
7 But Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, an important court official, heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern. At that time the king was holding court at the Benjamin Gate, 8 so Ebed-melech rushed from the palace to speak with him. 9 “My lord the king,” he said, “these men have done a very evil thing in putting Jeremiah the prophet into the cistern. He will soon die of hunger, for almost all the bread in the city is gone.”
10 So the king told Ebed-melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.”
11 So Ebed-melech took the men with him and went to a room in the palace beneath the treasury, where he found some old rags and discarded clothing. He carried these to the cistern and lowered them to Jeremiah on a rope. 12 Ebed-melech called down to Jeremiah, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.” Then when Jeremiah was ready, 13 they pulled him out. So Jeremiah was returned to the courtyard of the guard—the palace prison—where he remained.
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 12
14 When Abram came to Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful.
15 Pharaoh’s ministers saw her and spoke highly of her, agreeing among themselves that she was fit to be a wife for Pharaoh, so the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s palace.
16 Pharaoh treated Abram well because of her; in this way Abram acquired flocks, cattle, donkeys, bondmen, bondwomen, she-donkeys, and camels.
17 God struck Pharaoh and his household with severe plagues at the word of Sarai, the wife of Abram.
18 Pharaoh summoned Abram and said, “What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife?
19 Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to myself as a wife? Now here is your wife; take her and go!”
20 Pharaoh charged men to escort and guard Abram, and they escorted him together with his wife and all that he possessed.
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 13
1 From Egypt, Abram went up to the south of Canaan—he, his wife, and everything he owned—and Lot was with him.
2 Abram was heavily laden with cattle, silver, and gold.
3 He continued on his travels, from the south of Canaan toward Bethel, until he reached the place where he originally had his tent, between Bethel and Ai,
4 the site of the altar that he had built there at first, where Abram had invoked God. And now again, Abram invoked God there.
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Luke 12:42-48
The Master Is Coming Soon
42 And the Lord replied, “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. 43 If the master returns and finds that the servant has done a good job, there will be a reward. 44 I tell you the truth, the master will put that servant in charge of all he owns. 45 But what if the servant thinks, ‘My master won’t be back for a while,’ and he begins beating the other servants, partying, and getting drunk? 46 The master will return unannounced and unexpected, and he will cut the servant in pieces and banish him with the unfaithful.
47 “And a servant who knows what the master wants, but isn’t prepared and doesn’t carry out those instructions, will be severely punished. 48 But someone who does not know, and then does something wrong, will be punished only lightly. When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 13
5 Lot, who had accompanied Abram, had also acquired flocks, cattle, and tents.
6 The pasturage of the land between Bethel and Ai could not support them living together, for their possessions were so extensive that they could not remain together.
7 A quarrel arose between the herdsmen of Abram’s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle. The Canaanites and the Perizites were then living in the land.
8 Abram said to Lot, “Please, let there not be contention between me and you, and between my herdsmen and your herdsmen. After all, we are relatives.
9 Look, the whole land is before you. So please, separate yourself from me. If you go to the north, I will go to the south; if you go to the south, I will go to the north.”
10 Lot looked up and saw that all of Kikar, the plain of the Jordan River, was well irrigated. Before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, it was like God’s own garden and like Egypt, and it extended as far as the city Tzo’ar.
11 So Lot chose for himself all of Kikar, the plain of the Jordan River. Lot journeyed first westward from the east. Thus they separated from one another.
12 Abram lived in Canaan, while Lot dwelt in the cities of the Jordan River plain, and pitched his tents throughout the whole plain, as far as Sodom.
13 The inhabitants of Sodom and its neighbors were wicked and sinners. They sinned against God deliberately, in order to anger Him.
14 After Lot had separated from him, God said to Abram, “Raise your eyes and, from the place where you are, look to the north, to the south, to the east, and to the west.
15 For I will give all the land that you see to you and to your offspring forever.
16 I will make your offspring as numerous as the dust of the earth: if a man will be able to count the particles of dust in the world, then your offspring, too, will be countable.
17 Rise, walk through the land, along its length and breadth, for I will give it to you in the future.”
18 Abram set up tents, and came and settled in Elonim, the plains of Mamre the Amorite, in Hebron. There, he built an altar to God and offered up a sacrifice on it.
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Luke 12:49-53
The Purifying Fire of Change
49 “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! 50 I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 51 Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I have come to divide people against each other! 52 From now on families will be split apart, three in favor of me, and two against—or two in favor and three against.
53
‘Father will be divided against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; and mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.’”
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 14
1 In the days when King Amrafel of Shin’ar, King Aryoch of Elasar, King Kedorla’omer of Eilam, and King Tid’al of Goyim
2 waged war against King Bera of Sodom, King Birsha of Gomorrah, King Shin’av of Admah, King Shem’ever of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Tzo’ar, and subdued them,
3 all the latter joined forces in the Valley of Sidim, which later became part of the Dead Sea.
4 For 12 years, the five kings of the Plain served Kedorla’omer and his allies, and for 13 years they rebelled.
5 In the 14th year of their rebellion, Kedorla’omer and the other three kings who were with him came to quell the rebellion. On the way, they defeated the Rephaim in Ashterot-Karnayim, the Zuzim in Ham, and the Eimim in Shaveh-Kiryatayim.
6 They also defeated the Horites at their mountain of Se’ir, as far as Eil, the Plain of Paran, which borders on the desert.
7 They then turned back and arrived at Kadesh, which is also known as Ein-Mishpat. They conquered the entire field that would later be settled by the Amalekites, as well as the Amorites who lived in Chatzatzon-Tamar.
8 The king of Sodom, the king of Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of Tzevoyim, and the king of Bela, which is Tzo’ar, went forth and engaged them in battle in the Valley of Sidim,
9 contending with King Kedorla’omer of Eilam, King Tid’al of Goyim, King Amrafel of Shin’ar, and King Aryoch of Elasar—four kings against the five.
10 The Valley of Sidim was full of clay pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell there into the quagmire of clay. The other survivors fled to the mountains.
11 The four kings seized all the belongings of the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and all their provisions, and they departed.
12 When they left, they also took Abram’s nephew Lot and his possessions, since he had been living in Sodom.
13 The sole survivor of this battle came and told Abram, the Hebrew, who was living in Elonim, the plains of Mamre the Amorite, brother of Eshkol and brother of Aner, who were Abram’s allies.
14 When Abram heard that his kinsman had been taken captive, he armed his 318 attendants who had been born in his household. He set out in pursuit of Lot’s captors, following them as far as Dan.
15 He and his servants had divided themselves in order to pursue the four kings should they flee in different directions. Continuing the pursuit into the night, Abram attacked before midnight. Afterward, as stated, Abram pursued them, but only as far as Dan—where Abram’s descendants would later incur guilt—which is north of Damascus.
16 He retrieved all the belongings; he also brought back his kinsman Lot along with his belongings, as well as the women and the other people.
17 After Abram returned from his victory over Kedorla’omer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom came out to greet him at Open Valley, which was the king of Sodom’s sporting ground.
18 King Malki-Tzedek of Salem brought forth bread and wine. He was also a priest to God, the Most High.
19 He blessed Abram, and said, “Blessed be Abram before God the Most High, maker of heaven and earth.
20 And blessed be God the Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram then gave Malki-Tzedek a tithe of everything he owned.
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Lamentations 2:17-22
The Lord's Purifying Purpose
17
But it is the Lord who did just as he planned
He has fulfilled the promises of disaster
he made long ago.
He has destroyed Jerusalem without mercy.
He has caused her enemies to gloat over her
and has given them power over her.18
Cry aloud before the Lord,
O walls of beautiful Jerusalem! Let your tears flow like a river
day and night. Give yourselves no rest;
give your eyes no relief.19
Rise during the night and cry out.
Pour out your hearts like water to the Lord.
Lift up your hands to him in prayer,
pleading for your children, for in every street
they are faint with hunger.20
“O Lord, think about this!
Should you treat your own people this way?
Should mothers eat their own children,
those they once bounced on their knees?
Should priests and prophets be killed
within the Lord’s Temple?21
“See them lying in the streets—
young and old,
boys and girls,
killed by the swords of the enemy.
You have killed them in your anger,
slaughtering them without mercy.22
“You have invited terrors from all around,
as though you were calling them to a day of feasting.
In the day of the Lord’s anger,
no one has escaped or survived.
The enemy has killed all the children
whom I carried and raised.”Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 14
21 The king of Sodom said to Abram, “Give me the people you have rescued from my kingdom and keep the belongings you have retrieved for yourself.”
22 Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand and sworn to God, the Most High God, maker of heaven and earth,
23 that I will not even retain a thread or a shoe strap from among the returned belongings! Nor will I take anything that you offer me from your treasury as payment, so you will not be able to say, ‘It was I who made Abram rich.’
24 That is, except for what the young men have eaten, and the share due the men who came with me into battle, as well as what is due Aner, Eshkol, and Mamre. All these may take their share.”
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 15
1 After these words of Abram’s, God’s word came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not fear punishment, Abram; I am a shield for you. Furthermore, your reward will still be very great.”
2 Abram said, “God, of what benefit would anything be that You would give me, seeing that I am childless, and because I have no son, the administrator of my household is Eliezer of Damascus?”
3 Abram continued, “Look, You have given me no children. Eliezer, a mere member of my household, will inherit me.”
4 At that moment the word of God came to him, saying: “This person will not be your heir! Rather, one born from your own flesh will inherit you.”
5 God took Abram outside his tent and said, “Look towards heaven and count the stars—if you can count them!” He said to him, “That is how numerous your descendants will be.”
6 Abram believed in God, and God accounted it for him as an act of righteousness.
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Lamentations 3:21-36
Hope in the Lord
21
Yet I still dare to hope
when I remember this:22
The faithful love of the Lord never ends
His mercies never cease.23
Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.24
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
therefore, I will hope in him!”25
The Lord is good to those who depend on him,
to those who search for him.26
So it is good to wait quietly
for salvation from the Lord.27
And it is good for people to submit at an early age
to the yoke of his discipline:28
Let them sit alone in silence
beneath the Lord’s demands.29
Let them lie face down in the dust,
for there may be hope at last.30
Let them turn the other cheek to those who strike them
and accept the insults of their enemies.31
For no one is abandoned
by the Lord forever.32
Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion
because of the greatness of his unfailing love.33
For he does not enjoy hurting people
or causing them sorrow.34
If people crush underfoot
all the prisoners of the land,35
if they deprive others of their rights
in defiance of the Most High,36
if they twist justice in the courts—
doesn’t the Lord see all these things?Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 15
7 He said to him, “I am God who took you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it.”
8 “God,” replied Abram, “by what sign can I know that I will take possession of it?”
9 God said to him, “Bring for Me three calves, three goats, three rams, a turtledove, and a young dove.”
10 Abram brought Him all of these, slaughtered them, and cut the mammals in half, placing each piece opposite its counterpart. The birds, however, he did not cut in half.
11 Vultures swooped down on the carcasses, but Abram drove them away.
12 Then, as the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and he was overwhelmed by a dark and ominous dread.
13 God said to Abram, explaining this dread, “Know for sure that your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs, and the people will enslave them and oppress them for 400 years.
14 I will also execute judgment upon the nation whom they will serve. After that they will leave with great wealth.
15 As for you, you will join your fathers in the afterlife in peace, and you will be buried after reaching a good old age.
16 The fourth generation will return here, for not until then will the sin of the Amorites have run its course.”
17 The sun having set, it became very dark, and behold, a smoking furnace and a flaming torch passed between those animal pieces.
18 On that day, God made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the Stream of Egypt to the Euphrates, ‘the great river.’
19 This Promised Land comprises the territories of the Keinites, the Kenizites, the Kadmonites,
20 the Hittites, the Perizites, the Rephaim,
21 the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites, and the Jebusites.”
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 16
1 Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had not borne him a child. She had an Egyptian bondwoman whose name was Hagar.
2 Sarai said to Abram, “Look, God has kept me from having children. Therefore, come to my bondwoman, take her as a concubine; perhaps through the merit of sharing you with her I will bear children of my own and thereby be built up into a matriarch.” Abram heeded Sarai’s voice.
3 Abram’s wife, Sarai, convinced Hagar the Egyptian, her bondwoman—after Abram had lived in Canaan for ten years—to marry Abram. In this way she gave her to her husband, Abram, as a second wife.
4 He conducted marital relations with Hagar and she conceived immediately. When Hagar later saw that she was pregnant, she regarded her mistress with disdain and told her as much.
5 Sarai said to Abram, “You are to blame for the wrong of my humiliation! It was I who selflessly placed my bondwoman in your bosom, and now that she sees that she is pregnant, she regards me with disdain and yet you do not admonish her! Let God judge between me and you!”
6 Abram replied to Sarai, “Here, your bondwoman’s fate is in your hands. Deal with her as you see fit.” Sarai dealt harshly with her. So Hagar ran away from her.
7 An angel of God found her by a spring of water in the desert, next to the spring on the road to Shur.
8 In order to initiate a conversation with Hagar, he said, “Hagar, bondwoman of Sarai! Where are you coming from, and where are you headed?” She replied, “I am running away from Sarai, my mistress.”
9 A second angel of God appeared and said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her dominion.”
10 A third angel of God appeared and said to her, “I will grant you a multitude of descendants; they will be so numerous that they will be uncountable.”
11 A fourth angel of God appeared and said to her, “You will again conceive, and will give birth to a son. You must name him Ishmael, for God [i.e., God (El)] has heard [shama] your outcry.
12 He will be a wild man—a robber—so his hand will be set against everyone, and therefore everyone will hate him and their hand will be set against him to attack him. But his progeny will be numerous, so he will dwell in the company of all his kin.”
13 Hagar gave a new name to God who had spoken to her through these angels, saying, “You are the God of Seeing!” For she said, “Would I have even dared to think that I would be privileged to see angels here, too, by myself, after having seen in Abram’s tents that one must be very righteous in order to merit such a privilege?”
14 The well was therefore called Be’er LaChai Ro’i (“the well where the living [angel] appeared”). It is between Kadesh and Bered.
15 Hagar again conceived and bore a son to Abram. Abram gave the name Ishmael to his son whom Hagar had borne.
16 Abram was 86 years old when Hagar bore Ishmael to Abram.
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 17
1 When Abram was 99 years old, God appeared to Abram. God said to him, “I am God Almighty. Walk in My ways and in addition, please be perfect—without any defect—in walking in My ways.
2 I will make a covenant between Me and you, and I will make you exceedingly numerous.”
3 Abram threw himself on his face. God spoke to him, saying,
4 “As for Me, here is My covenant with you: You will be the father of a multitude of nations.
5 No longer will you be named Abram, meaning ‘The father—i.e., ruler—of Aram.’ Rather, your name will be Abraham [Avraham], for I have made you the father of a multitude [av hamon] of nations.
6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful. I will make you into two more nations. The kings of these nations will also descend from you.
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1 Peter 1:1-12
Faith Tested by Fire
1 This letter is from Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ.
I am writing to God’s chosen people who are living as foreigners in the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 2 God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and his Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ.
May God give you more and more grace and peace.
The Hope of Eternal Life
3 All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, 4 and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. 5 And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see.
6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.
10 This salvation was something even the prophets wanted to know more about when they prophesied about this gracious salvation prepared for you. 11 They wondered what time or situation the Spirit of Christ within them was talking about when he told them in advance about Christ’s suffering and his great glory afterward.
12 They were told that their messages were not for themselves, but for you. And now this Good News has been announced to you by those who preached in the power of the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. It is all so wonderful that even the angels are eagerly watching these things happen.
Bereshit (Genesis) Chapter 17
7 I will also maintain another aspect of My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations, as an everlasting covenant: to be God both to you and to your descendants after you.
8 I will give the land in which you are sojourning, the entire land of Canaan, as an everlasting heritage to you and to your descendants after you, and I will be God unto them.”
9 God further said to Abraham, “As for you, you keep My covenant, you and your descendants after you, throughout their generations.
10 This is My covenant, between Me and you—i.e., all the current members of your household—and your descendants after you, for you to keep: to circumcise every male among you.
11 You must circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, and this will be a covenantal sign between Me and you.
12 Throughout your generations, every male among you must be circumcised when he is eight days old, including every male born of a non-Jewish bondwoman, whether he was conceived when she was already owned by your household or whether he was bought for money—along with his non-Jewish mother when she was pregnant with him—from a stranger who is not one of your descendants.
13 In contrast, any male born in your household of a non-Jewish woman who was purchased not as a bondwoman herself but only with the understanding that her offspring be bondservants, and any non-Jewish male bought with your money as a bondman after he was born, must be circumcised immediately upon purchase, even if he is older or younger than eight days old. My covenant will thus be in your flesh as an everlasting covenant.
14 An uncircumcised male who does not circumcise his foreskin—that soul will be cut off from his people, for he has breached My covenant.”
15 God said to Abraham, “Regarding Sarai, your wife—you must not call her anymore by the name Sarai, meaning ‘my princess,’ for Sarah, meaning ‘princess’ in general, is her name.
16 I will bless her, and will also give you a son from her. I will also bless her with abundant lactation. She will give rise to nations; kings of peoples will issue from her.”
17 Abraham threw himself on his face and laughed in joy, saying to himself, “Were it not for God, would a child be born to a 100-year-old man?! Would Sarah, at 90, give birth?!”
18 Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael would live in awe of You and be worthy to succeed me!”
19 God said, “Still, Sarah your wife will indeed bear you a son, and you must name him Isaac [Yitzchak—‘will laugh’]. I will maintain My covenant only with Isaac as an everlasting covenant, for his descendants after him.
20 Regarding Ishmael, I have heard you: I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful and extremely numerous. He will father 12 princes, and I will make him into a great nation.
21 But I will maintain My covenant with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you at this time next year.”
22 When He had finished speaking with him, God’s presence ascended from resting “above” Abraham.
23 Abraham then took Ishmael his son, and all those born in his household, and all those he had bought for money—that is, every male among the people of Abraham’s household—and circumcised the flesh of their foreskins on the very same day on which God gave him the commandment, as God had spoken with him.
24 Abraham was 99 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.
25 Ishmael his son was only 13 years old when the flesh of his foreskin was circumcised.
26 On that very day Abraham was circumcised, along with Ishmael his son,
27 and all the men of his household, whether home-born or bought for money from a stranger, were circumcised with him.