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Wed 2023-06-21 Leviticus19 Psalms23 Psalms24 Ecclesiastes2 1 Timothy4
Leviticus 19.
19:1 The LORD said to Moses,
19:2 "Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: 'Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy.
19:3 "'Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the LORD your God.
19:4 "'Do not turn to idols or make gods of cast metal for yourselves. I am the LORD your God.
19:5 "'When you sacrifice a fellowship offering to the LORD, sacrifice it in such a way that it will be accepted on your behalf.
19:6 It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it or on the next day; anything left over until the third day must be burned up.
19:7 If any of it is eaten on the third day, it is impure and will not be accepted.
19:8 Whoever eats it will be held responsible because he has desecrated what is holy to the LORD; that person must be cut off from his people.
19:9 "'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.
19:10 Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God.
19:11 "'Do not steal. "'Do not lie. "'Do not deceive one another.
19:12 "'Do not swear falsely by my name and so profane the name of your God. I am the LORD.
19:13 "'Do not defraud your neighbor or rob him. "'Do not hold back the wages of a hired man overnight.
19:14 "'Do not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block in front of the blind, but fear your God. I am the LORD.
19:15 "'Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly.
19:16 "'Do not go about spreading slander among your people. "'Do not do anything that endangers your neighbor's life. I am the LORD.
19:17 "'Do not hate your brother in your heart. Rebuke your neighbor frankly so you will not share in his guilt.
19:18 "'Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.
19:19 "'Keep my decrees. "'Do not mate different kinds of animals. "'Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed. "'Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds of material.
19:20 "'If a man sleeps with a woman who is a slave girl promised to another man but who has not been ransomed or given her freedom, there must be due punishment. Yet they are not to be put to death, because she had not been freed.
19:21 The man, however, must bring a ram to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting for a guilt offering to the LORD.
19:22 With the ram of the guilt offering the priest is to make atonement for him before the LORD for the sin he has committed, and his sin will be forgiven.
19:23 "'When you enter the land and plant any kind of fruit tree, regard its fruit as forbidden. For three years you are to consider it forbidden; it must not be eaten.
19:24 In the fourth year all its fruit will be holy, an offering of praise to the LORD.
19:25 But in the fifth year you may eat its fruit. In this way your harvest will be increased. I am the LORD your God.
19:26 "'Do not eat any meat with the blood still in it. "'Do not practice divination or sorcery.
19:27 "'Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.
19:28 "'Do not cut your bodies for the dead or put tattoo marks on yourselves. I am the LORD.
19:29 "'Do not degrade your daughter by making her a prostitute, or the land will turn to prostitution and be filled with wickedness.
19:30 "'Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the LORD.
19:31 "'Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God.
19:32 "'Rise in the presence of the aged, show respect for the elderly and revere your God. I am the LORD.
19:33 "'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not mistreat him.
19:34 The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born. Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt. I am the LORD your God.
19:35 "'Do not use dishonest standards when measuring length, weight or quantity.
19:36 Use honest scales and honest weights, an honest ephah and an honest hin. I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt.
19:37 "'Keep all my decrees and all my laws and follow them. I am the LORD.'"
Psalms 23.
23:1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
23:3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
23:6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalms 24.
24:1 The earth is the LORD'S, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;
24:2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
24:3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?
24:4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false.
24:5 He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior.
24:6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah
24:7 Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
24:8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle.
24:9 Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
24:10 Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty--he is the King of glory. Selah
Ecclesiastes 2.
2:1 I thought in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure to find out what is good." But that also proved to be meaningless.
2:2 "Laughter," I said, "is foolish. And what does pleasure accomplish?"
2:3 I tried cheering myself with wine, and embracing folly--my mind still guiding me with wisdom. I wanted to see what was worthwhile for men to do under heaven during the few days of their lives.
2:4 I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards.
2:5 I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them.
2:6 I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees.
2:7 I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me.
2:8 I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well--the delights of the heart of man.
2:9 I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me.
2:10 I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor.
2:11 Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.
2:12 Then I turned my thoughts to consider wisdom, and also madness and folly. What more can the king's successor do than what has already been done?
2:13 I saw that wisdom is better than folly, just as light is better than darkness.
2:14 The wise man has eyes in his head, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both.
2:15 Then I thought in my heart, "The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?" I said in my heart, "This too is meaningless."
2:16 For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten. Like the fool, the wise man too must die!
2:17 So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
2:18 I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me.
2:19 And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.
2:20 So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun.
2:21 For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune.
2:22 What does a man get for all the toil and anxious striving with which he labors under the sun?
2:23 All his days his work is pain and grief; even at night his mind does not rest. This too is meaningless.
2:24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God,
2:25 for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?
2:26 To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
1 Timothy 4.
4:1 The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
4:2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
4:3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.
4:4 For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
4:5 because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.
4:6 If you point these things out to the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, brought up in the truths of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed.
4:7 Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
4:8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.
4:9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance
4:10 (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.
4:11 Command and teach these things.
4:12 Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.
4:13 Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to preaching and to teaching.
4:14 Do not neglect your gift, which was given you through a prophetic message when the body of elders laid their hands on you.
4:15 Be diligent in these matters; give yourself wholly to them, so that everyone may see your progress.
4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.