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Weekly Scripture Reading
Torah: DEUTERONOMY 22-26
Prophets: ZEPHANIAH 1-3
Historical Writings: 1 SAMUEL 26-27
New Testament: EPHESIANS 5-6
Wisdom Writings: JOB 39
Non-Canonical: 2 BARUK 54-56
The following translation is from The Scriptures | ISR98
DEUTERONOMY 22-26
22 | 1 “When you see your brother’s ox or his sheep going straying away, you shall not hide yourself from them. Return them to your brother without fail.
2 “And if your brother is not near you, or if you do not know him, then you shall bring it to your own house, and it shall be with you until your brother seeks it, then you shall return it to him.
3 “And so you do with his donkey, and so you do with his garment, and so you do with whatever your brother loses, which he has lost and you have found. You are not allowed to hide yourself.
4 “When you see your brother’s donkey or his ox fall down on the way, you shall not hide yourself from them. Help him raise them without fail.
5 “A woman does not wear that which pertains to a man, nor does a man put on a woman’s garment, for whoever does this is an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.
6 “When you come upon a bird’s nest along the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, with the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, do not take the mother with the young –
7 let the mother go without fail, and take the young for yourself, so that it might be well with you, and that you shall prolong your days.
8 “When you build a new house, then you shall make a parapet for your roof, so that you do not bring blood-guilt on your house when one falls from it.
9 “Do not sow your vineyard with different kinds of seed, lest the yield of the seed which you have sown and the fruit of your vineyard be defiled.
10 “Do not plough with an ox and a donkey together.
11 “Do not put on a garment of different kinds, of wool and linen together.
12 “Make tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.
13“When any man takes a wife, and shall go in to her, and shall hate her,
14 and shall make abusive charges against her and bring an evil name on her and say, ‘I took this woman, and when I came to her I did not find her a maiden,’
15 then the father and mother of the young woman shall take and bring out the proof of the girl’s maidenhood to the elders of the city at the gate.
16 “And the girl’s father shall say to the elders, ‘I gave my daughter to this man as wife, and he hates her.
17 ‘And see, he has made abusive charges against her, saying, “I did not find your daughter a maiden,” and yet these are the proofs of my daughter’s maidenhood.’ And they shall spread the garment before the elders of the city.
18 “And the elders of that city shall take that man and punish him,
19 and fine him one hundred pieces of silver and give them to the father of the young woman, because he has brought an evil name on a maiden of Yisra’ĕl. And she is to be his wife, he is not allowed to put her away all his days.
20 “But if the matter is true, that the girl was not found a maiden,
21 then they shall bring out the girl to the door of her father’s house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done wickedness in Yisra’ĕl, to whore in her father’s house. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.
22 “When a man is found lying with a woman married to a husband, then both of them shall die, both the man that lay with the woman, and the woman. Thus you shall purge the evil from Yisra’ĕl.
23 “When a girl who is a maiden is engaged to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her,
24 then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and shall stone them to death with stones, the girl because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he has humbled his neighbour’s wife. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.
25 “But if a man finds the girl who is engaged in the field, and the man seizes her and lies with her, then only the man who lay with her shall die.
26 “But you shall do no matter to the girl. The girl has no sin worthy of death – for the matter is like a man who rises against his neighbour and kills him –
27 for he found her in the field, and she cried out, the engaged girl, but without anyone to save her.
28 “When a man finds a girl who is a maiden, who is not engaged, and he seizes her and lies with her, and they are found out,
29 then the man who lay with her shall give to the girl’s father fifty pieces of silver, and she is to be his wife because he has humbled her. He is not allowed to put her away all his days.
30 “A man does not take his father’s wife, nor uncover his father’s skirt.
23 | 1 “No one wounded, crushed or whose member is cut off does enter the assembly of יהוה.
2 “No one of illegitimate birth does enter the assembly of יהוה, even a tenth generation of his does not enter the assembly of יהוה.
3 “An Ammonite or Mo’aḇite does not enter the assembly of יהוה, even a tenth generation of them does not ever enter the assembly of יהוה,
4 because they did not meet you with bread and water on the way when you came out of Mitsrayim, and because they hired against you Bil‛am son of Be‛or from Pethor of Aram Naharayim, to curse you.
5 “But יהוה your Elohim refused to listen to Bil‛am, and יהוה your Elohim turned the curse into a blessing for you, because יהוה your Elohim loves you.
6 “Do not seek their peace nor their good, all your days, forever.
7 “Do not loathe an Eḏomite, for he is your brother. Do not loathe a Mitsrite, because you were a stranger in his land.
8 “The children of the third generation born to them do enter the assembly of יהוה.
9 “When the army goes out against your enemies, then you shall guard yourself from every evil matter.
10 “When there is any man among you who is not clean because of an emission in the night, then he shall go outside the camp. Let him not come into the midst of the camp.
11 “And it shall be, when evening comes, that he bathes with water. And when the sun sets let him come into the midst of the camp.
12 “And you shall have a place outside the camp, where you shall go out,
13 and you shall have a sharp implement among your equipment, and when you sit down outside, you shall dig with it and turn and cover your excrement.
14 “For יהוה your Elohim walks in the midst of your camp, to deliver you and give your enemies over to you. Therefore your camp shall be set-apart, so that He does not see unclean matter among you, and shall turn away from you.
15 “You do not hand over to his master the slave who has escaped from his master to you.
16 “Let him dwell with you in your midst, in the place which he chooses within one of your gates, where it is pleasing to him. Do not oppress him.
17 “None of the daughters of Yisra’ĕl is to be a cult prostitute, nor any of the sons of Yisra’ĕl be a cult prostitute.
18 “Do not bring the gift of a whore or the pay of a dog to the House of יהוה your Elohim for any vowed offering, for both of these are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.
19 “Do not lend at interest to your brother, interest of silver, interest of food, or interest of whatever is lent at interest.
20 “To a foreigner you lend at interest, but to your brother you do not lend at interest, so that יהוה your Elohim might bless you in all that you put your hand to in the land which you are entering to possess.
21 “When you make a vow to יהוה your Elohim, do not delay to pay it, for יהוה your Elohim is certainly requiring it of you, and it shall be sin in you.
22 “But when you abstain from vowing, it is not sin in you.
23 “That which has gone from your lips you shall guard and do, for you voluntarily vowed to יהוה your Elohim what you have promised with your mouth.
24 “When you come into your neighbour’s vineyard, you shall eat to the satisfaction of your desire, but do not put any in a receptacle of yours.
25 “When you come into your neighbour’s standing grain, you shall pluck the heads with your hand, but do not use a sickle on your neighbour’s standing grain.
24 | 1 “When a man takes a wife and shall marry her, then it shall be, if she finds no favour in his eyes because he has found a matter of uncoveredness in her, and he shall write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house,
2 and if she left his house and went and became another man’s wife,
3 and the latter husband shall hate her and write her a certificate of divorce, and put it in her hand, and send her out of his house, or when the latter husband dies who took her to be his wife,
4 then her former husband who sent her away is not allowed to take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled, for that would be an abomination before יהוה. And do not bring sin on the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance.
5 “When a man has taken a new wife, let him not go out into the army nor let any matter be imposed upon him. He shall be exempt one year for the sake of his home, to rejoice with his wife whom he has taken.
6 “No one takes in pledge the lower or the upper millstone, for he would be taking a life in pledge.
7 “When a man is found kidnapping any of his brothers of the children of Yisra’ĕl, and treats him harshly or sells him, then that kidnapper shall die. Thus you shall purge the evil from your midst.
8 “Take heed, in an outbreak of leprosy, to diligently guard and do according to all that the priests, the Lĕwites, teach you. As I have commanded them, so you shall guard to do.
9 “Remember what יהוה your Elohim did to Miryam on the way when you came out of Mitsrayim.
10 “When you lend your brother a loan, do not go into his house to get his pledge.
11 “Stand outside, and let the man to whom you lend bring the pledge out to you.
12 “And if the man is poor, do not sleep with his pledge.
13 “By all means return the pledge to him at sundown, and he shall sleep in his own garment, and shall bless you. And it shall be righteousness to you before יהוה your Elohim.
14 “Do not oppress a hired servant who is poor and needy, of your brothers or of the strangers who is in your land within your gates.
15 “Give him his wages on the same day, and do not let the sun go down on it, for he is poor and lifts up his being to it, so that he does not cry out against you to יהוה, and it shall be sin in you.
16 “Fathers are not put to death for their children, and children are not put to death for their fathers, each is to die for his own sin.
17 “Do not twist the right-ruling of a stranger or the fatherless, nor take the garment of a widow.
18 “But you shall remember that you were a slave in Mitsrayim, and that יהוה your Elohim redeemed you from there. Therefore I am commanding you to do this word.
19 “When you reap your harvest in your field, and have forgotten a sheaf in the field, do not go back to get it. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow, so that יהוה your Elohim might bless you in all the work of your hands.
20 “When you beat your olive trees, do not examine the branch behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
21 “When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean behind you. Let it be for the stranger, for the fatherless, and for the widow.
22 “And you shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Mitsrayim. Therefore I am commanding you to do this word.
25 | 1 “When there is a dispute between men, then they shall come unto judgment, and they shall be judged, and the righteous declared righteous and the wrongdoer declared wrong.
2 “And it shall be, if the wrongdoer is to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of blows according to his wrong.
3 “Forty blows he gives him but no more, lest he beat him with many more blows than these, and your brother be degraded before your eyes.
4 “Do not muzzle an ox while it is threshing.
5 “When brothers dwell together, and one of them has died, and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not become a stranger’s outside. Her husband’s brother does go in to her, and shall take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her.
6 “And it shall be that the first-born son which she bears does rise up for the name of his dead brother, so that his name is not blotted out of Yisra’ĕl.
7 “But if the man does not desire to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Yisra’ĕl, he does not agree to perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’
8 “The elders of his city shall then call him and speak to him, and he shall stand and say, ‘I have no desire to take her,’
9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, and remove his sandal from his foot, and shall spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘Thus it is done to the man who does not build up his brother’s house.’
10 “And in Yisra’ĕl his name shall be called, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’
11 “When men fight with one another, and the wife of one shall draw near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and shall put out her hand and seize him by the genitals,
12 then you shall cut off her hand – your eye does not pardon.
13 “You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light.
14 “You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small.
15 “You shall have a perfect and right weight, a perfect and right measure, so that they prolong your days on the soil which יהוה your Elohim is giving you.
16 “For all who do these, and all who do unrighteously, are an abomination to יהוה your Elohim.
17 “Remember what Amalĕq did to you on the way as you were coming out of Mitsrayim,
18 how he met you on the way and attacked your back, all the feeble ones in your rear, when you were tired and weary. And he did not fear Elohim.
19 “Therefore it shall be, when יהוה your Elohim has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you blot out the remembrance of Amalĕq from under the heavens. Do not forget!
26 | 1 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which יהוה your Elohim is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it,
2 that you shall take some of the first of all the fruits of the soil which you bring from your land that יהוה your Elohim is giving you, and shall put it in a basket and go to the place where יהוה your Elohim chooses to make His Name dwell there.
3 “And you shall come to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I shall declare today to יהוה your Elohim that I have come to the land which יהוה swore to our fathers to give us.’
4 “And the priest shall take the basket from your hand and place it before the altar of יהוה your Elohim.
5 “And you shall answer and say before יהוה your Elohim, ‘My father was a perishing Aramean, and he went down to Mitsrayim and sojourned there with few men. And there he became a nation, great, mighty, and numerous.
6 ‘But the Mitsrites did evil to us, and afflicted us, and imposed hard labour on us.
7 ‘Then we cried out to יהוה Elohim of our fathers, and יהוה heard our voice and saw our affliction and our toil and our oppression.
8 ‘And יהוה brought us out of Mitsrayim with a strong hand and with an outstretched arm, with great fear and with signs and wonders.
9 ‘And He brought us to this place and has given us this land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.”
10 ‘And now, see, I have brought the first-fruits of the land which You, O יהוה, have given me.’ Then you shall place it before יהוה your Elohim, and bow down before יהוה your Elohim,
11 and shall rejoice in all the good which יהוה your Elohim has given to you and your house, you and the Lĕwite and the stranger who is among you.
12 “When you have completed tithing all the tithe of your increase in the third year, which is the year of tithing, and have given it to the Lĕwite, to the stranger, to the fatherless, and to the widow, and they have eaten within your gates and have been satisfied,
13 then you shall say before יהוה your Elohim, ‘I have put away the set-apart portion from my house, and also have given it to the Lĕwite, and to the stranger, and to the fatherless, and to the widow, according to all Your command which You have commanded me. I have not transgressed Your commands, nor have I forgotten.
14 ‘I have not eaten any of it when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it for any unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of יהוה my Elohim, I have done according to all that You have commanded me.
15 ‘Look from Your set-apart dwelling place, from the heavens, and bless Your people Yisra’ĕl and the land which You have given us, as You swore to our fathers, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’
16 “Today יהוה your Elohim is commanding you to do these laws and right-rulings. And you shall guard and do them with all your heart and with all your being.
17 “You have today caused יהוה to proclaim to be your Elohim, and to walk in His ways and guard His laws, and His commands, and His right-rulings, and to obey His voice.
18 “And יהוה has caused you to proclaim today to be His people, a treasured possession, as He has spoken to you, and to guard all His commands,
19 so as to set you high above all nations which He has made, for a praise, and for a name, and for esteem, and for you to be a set-apart people to יהוה your Elohim, as He has spoken.”
ZEPHANIAH 1-3
1 | 1 The word of יהוה which came to Tsephanyah son of Kushi, son of Geḏalyah, son of Amaryah, son of Ḥizqiyah, in the days of Yoshiyahu son of Amon, sovereign of Yehuḏah.
2 “I shall snatch away all from the face of the earth,” declares יהוה –
3 “I snatch away man and beast, I snatch away the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, and the stumbling-blocks, with the wrong, when I shall cut off man from the face of the earth,” declares יהוה.
4 “And I shall stretch out My hand against Yehuḏah, and against all the inhabitants of Yerushalayim, and cut off every trace of Ba‛al from this place, the names of the idolatrous priests, with the priests,
5 and those bowing down to the host of the heavens on the house-tops, and those bowing themselves, swearing by יהוה and swearing by Malkam;
6 and those who turn away from following יהוה, and who have not sought יהוה or inquired of Him.”
7 Hush! in the presence of the Master יהוה. For the day of יהוה is near, for יהוה has prepared a slaughter, He has set apart His invited ones.
8 “And it shall be, in the day of the slaughter of יהוה, that I shall punish the rulers and the sons of the sovereign, and all such as are clad in foreign garments.
9 “And I shall punish on that day all who leap over the threshold, who fill their masters’ houses with violence and deceit.
10 “And on that day there shall be,” declares יהוה, “the sound of a cry from the Fish Gate, and of a howling from the Second Quarter, and of a great crashing from the hills.
11 “Howl, you inhabitants of Maḵtĕsh, for all the merchant people shall be silenced, all those weighing out silver shall be cut off.
12 “And at that time it shall be, that I search Yerushalayim with lamps and punish the men who are settled on their dregs, who say in their heart, ‘יהוה does no good, nor does He evil.’
13 “And their wealth shall become plunder, and their houses laid waste. And they shall build houses but not inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards but not drink their wine.”
14 Near is the great day of יהוה, near and hurrying greatly, the noise of the day of יהוה. Let the mighty man then bitterly cry out!
15 That day is a day of wrath, a day of distress and trouble, a day of waste and ruin, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
16 a day of ram’s horn and alarm – against the walled cities and against the corner towers.
17 “And I shall bring distress on men, and they shall walk like blind men – because they have sinned against יהוה, and their blood shall be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.”
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of יהוה. And by the fire of His jealousy all the earth shall be consumed, for He makes a sudden end of all those who dwell in the earth.
2 | 1 Gather together, gather together, O nation without shame,
2 before the decree is born – the day shall pass on like chaff – before the burning wrath of יהוה comes upon you, before the day of wrath of יהוה comes upon you!
3 Seek יהוה, all you meek ones of the earth, who have done His right-ruling. Seek righteousness, seek meekness, if so be that you are hidden in the day of wrath of יהוה.
4 For Azzah is abandoned and Ashqelon laid waste, Ashdoḏ is driven out at noonday and Eqron is uprooted.
5 Woe to the inhabitants of the seacoast, the nation of the Kerĕthites! The word of יהוה is against you, O Kena‛an, land of the Philistines, “And I shall destroy you, so that there is no inhabitant.”
6 And the seacoast shall be pastures, shepherds’ meadows and enclosures for flocks.
7 And the coast shall be for the remnant of the house of Yehuḏah. They shall feed their flocks on it, at evening they lie down in the houses of Ashqelon. For יהוה their Elohim shall visit them and turn back their captivity.
8 “I have heard the reproach of Mo’aḇ, and the revilings of the children of Ammon, with which they have reproached My people, and exalted themselves against their borders.
9 “Therefore, as I live,” declares יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, “Mo’aḇ shall be like Seḏom, and the children of Ammon like Amorah – a possession for weeds and a pit of salt, and a waste forever, the remnant of My people plunder them, and the rest of My nation possess them.”
10 This is what they get for their pride, because they have reproached and exalted themselves against the people of יהוה of hosts.
11 יהוה shall be awesome to them, for He shall make all the mighty ones of the earth to shrivel, while all the coastlands of the nations bow down to Him, each one from his place.
12 “You too, O Kushites, are to be slain by My sword.”
13 And He shall stretch out His hand against the north, and destroy Ashshur, and make Ninewĕh a waste, as dry as a wilderness.
14 And droves shall lie down in her midst, every beast of the nation, both pelican and bittern lodge in the tops of her columns, a voice singing at the window, ruin be at the threshold, for the cedar work is exposed.
15 This is the exultant city that is dwelling in safety, that said in her heart, “I am it, and there is none but me.” How has she become a waste, a place for beasts to lie down! Everyone who passes by her whistles and shakes his fist.
3 | 1 Woe to her who is rebellious and defiled, the oppressing city!
2 She did not obey the voice, she did not accept instruction, she did not trust in יהוה, she did not draw near to her Elohim.
3 Her rulers in her midst are roaring lions, her judges are evening wolves, they shall leave no bone until morning.
4 Her prophets are reckless, treacherous men. Her priests have profaned the set-apart place, they have done violence to the Toraha.
5 יהוה is righteous in her midst, He does no unrighteousness. Morning by morning He brings His right-ruling to light, it has not been lacking, yet the unrighteous one knows no shame.
6 “I have cut off nations, their corner towers are in ruins. I have made their streets deserted, with no one passing by. Their cities are destroyed, without man, without inhabitant.
7 “I have said, ‘Only fear Me, accept instruction.’ And her dwelling would not be cut off, all that I have appointed for her. But they rose up early, they corrupted all their deeds.
8 “Therefore wait for Me,” declares יהוה, “until the day I rise up for plunder. For My judgment is to gather nations, to assemble reigns, to pour out on them My rage, all my burning wrath. For by the fire of My jealousy all the earth shall be consumed.
9 “For then I shall turn unto the peoples a clean lipa, so that they all call on the Name of יהוה, to serve Him with one shoulder.
10 “From beyond the rivers of Kush my worshippers, the daughter of My dispersed ones, shall bring My offering.
11 “In that day you shall not be put to shame for any of your deeds in which you have transgressed against Me, for then I shall remove from your midst your proud exulting ones, and you shall no more be haughty in My set-apart mountain.
12 “But I shall leave in your midst an oppressed and poor people, and they shall trust in the Name of יהוה.
13 “The remnant of Yisra’ĕl shall do no unrighteousness and speak no falsehooda, nor is a tongue of deceit found in their mouth. For they shall feed their flocks and lie down, with none to frighten them.”
14 Shout for joy, O daughter of Tsiyon! Shout, O Yisra’ĕl! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Yerushalayim!
15 יהוה has turned aside your judgments. He has faced your enemy. The Sovereign of Yisra’ĕl, יהוה, is in your midsta. No longer need you fear evil.
16 In that day it shall be said to Yerushalayim, “Do not fear, Tsiyon, do not let your hands be weak.
17 “יהוה your Elohim in your midst, is mighty to save. He rejoices over you with joy, He is silent in His love, He rejoices over you with singing.”
18 “I shall gather those who grieve about the appointed place, who are among you, to whom its reproach is a burden.
19 “See, I am dealing with all those afflicting you at that time. And I shall save the lame, and gather those who were cast out. And I shall give them for a praise and for a name in all the earth where they were put to shame.
20 “At that time I shall bring you in, even at the time I gather you, for I shall give you for a name, and for a praise, among all the peoples of the earth, when I turn back your captivity before your eyes,” said יהוה.
1 Samuel 26-27
26 | 1 And the Ziphites came to Sha’ul at Giḇ‛ah, saying, “Is not Dawiḏ hiding himself in the hill of Ḥaḵilah, overlooking the wasteland?”
2 And Sha’ul rose up and went down to the Wilderness of Ziph, and with him three thousand chosen men of Yisra’ĕl, to seek Dawiḏ in the Wilderness of Ziph.
3 And Sha’ul encamped in the hill of Ḥaḵilah, overlooking the wasteland, by the way, while Dawiḏ was dwelling in the wilderness, and he saw that Sha’ul came after him into the wilderness.
4 And Dawiḏ sent out spies, and learned that Sha’ul had indeed come.
5 And Dawiḏ rose up and came to the place where Sha’ul had encamped. And Dawiḏ saw the place where Sha’ul lay, and Aḇnĕr son of Nĕr, the commander of his army. And Sha’ul was lying within the enclosure, with the people encamped all around him.
6 And Dawiḏ spoke up and said to Aḥimeleḵ the Ḥittite and to Aḇishai son of Tseruyah, brother of Yo’aḇ, saying, “Who does go down with me to Sha’ul in the camp?” And Aḇishai said, “I, I go down with you.”
7 And Dawiḏ and Aḇishai came to the people by night and saw Sha’ul lying asleep within the camp, with his spear stuck in the ground by his head, and Aḇnĕr and the people lay all around him.
8 And Aḇishai said to Dawiḏ, “Elohim has surrendered your enemy into your hand this day. And now, please, let me smite him at once with the spear, right into the earth, and not a second time!”
9 But Dawiḏ said to Aḇishai, “Do not destroy him, for who shall stretch out his hand against the anointed of יהוה, and be guiltless?”
10 Dawiḏ also said, “As יהוה lives, except יהוה does smite him, or his day come that he shall die, or he shall go out to battle and perish,
11 far be it from me, by יהוה, that I stretch out my hand against the anointed of יהוה. And now, please take the spear and the jug of water that are by his head, and let us go.”
12 So Dawiḏ took the spear and the jug of water by Sha’ul’s head, and they went away. And no man saw it or knew it or awoke, for they were all asleep, because a deep sleep from יהוה had fallen on them.
13 And Dawiḏ passed over to the other side, and stood on the top of a hill far away, a great distance being between them.
14 And Dawiḏ called out to the people and to Aḇnĕr son of Nĕr, saying, “Do you not answer, Aḇnĕr?” And Aḇnĕr answered and said, “Who are you, calling out to the sovereign?”
15 And Dawiḏ said to Aḇnĕr, “Are you not a man? And who is like you in Yisra’ĕl? Why then have you not guarded your master the sovereign? For one of the people came in to destroy your master the sovereign.
16 “What you have done is not good. As יהוה lives, you are worthy to die, because you have not guarded your master, the anointed of יהוה. And now see where the sovereign’s spear is, and the jug of water that was by his head.”
17 And Sha’ul recognised Dawiḏ’s voice, and said, “Is that your voice, my son Dawiḏ?” And Dawiḏ said, “It is my voice, my master, O sovereign.”
18 And he said, “Why is this that my master is pursuing his servant? For what have I done, or what evil is in my hand?
19 “And now, please, let my master the sovereign hear the words of his servant: If יהוה has moved you against me, let Him accept an offering. But if it is the children of men, then they are cursed before יהוה, for they have driven me out today that I should not join myself to the inheritance of יהוה, saying, ‘Go, serve other mighty ones.’
20 “And now, do not let my blood fall to the earth before the face of יהוה. For the sovereign of Yisra’ĕl has come out to seek a flea, as when one hunts a partridge in the mountains.”
21 And Sha’ul said, “I have sinned. Come back, my son Dawiḏ. For no more am I going to do evil to you, because my life was precious in your eyes today. See, I have acted foolishly, and have greatly strayed.”
22 And Dawiḏ answered and said, “See, the sovereign’s spear! And let one of the young men come over and get it.
23 “And let יהוה reward every man for his righteousness and his trustworthiness, for this day יהוה gave you into my hand, but I would not stretch out my hand against the anointed of יהוה.
24 “And see, as your life has been valued in my eyes today, so let my life be valued in the eyes of יהוה, and let Him deliver me out of all distress.”
25 And Sha’ul said to Dawiḏ, “Blessed are you, my son Dawiḏ, achieving much, and indeed prevailing!” Then Dawiḏ went on his way, and Sha’ul returned to his place.
27 | 1 And Dawiḏ said in his heart, “Now I shall perish by the hand of Sha’ul, some day. There is naught better for me than to escape to the land of the Philistines. Then Sha’ul shall give up searching for me any longer in any part of Yisra’ĕl, and I shall escape out of his hand.”
2 So Dawiḏ rose up and passed over with the six hundred men who were with him to Aḵish son of Ma‛oḵ, sovereign of Gath.
3 And Dawiḏ dwelt with Aḵish at Gath, he and his men, each man with his household – Dawiḏ with his two wives, Aḥino‛am the Yizre‛ĕlitess, and Aḇig̅ayil the Karmelitess, Naḇal’s widow.
4 And it was reported to Sha’ul that Dawiḏ had fled to Gath, so he sought him no more.
5 And Dawiḏ said to Aḵish, “If I have now found favour in your eyes, let them give me a place in some town in the country, to dwell there. For why should your servant dwell in the royal city with you?”
6 And Aḵish gave him Tsiqlag̅ that day. That is why Tsiqlag̅ has belonged to the sovereigns of Yehuḏah to this day.
7 And the time that Dawiḏ dwelt in the country of the Philistines came to be a year and four months.
8 And Dawiḏ and his men went up and raided the Geshurites, and the Girzites, and the Amalĕqites. For those nations were the inhabitants of the land from of old, as you go to Shur, even as far as the land of Mitsrayim.
9 And when Dawiḏ had smitten the land, he left neither man nor woman alive, but took away sheep, and cattle, and donkeys, and camels, and garments, and returned and came to Aḵish.
10 And Aḵish would say, “Where have you made a raid today?” And Dawiḏ would say, “Against the South of Yehuḏah, or against the South of the Yeraḥme’ĕlites, or against the South of the Qĕynites.”
11 Dawiḏ did not keep alive man nor woman, to bring news to Gath, saying, “Lest they inform against us, saying, ‘Thus Dawiḏ did.’ ” And this was his practice all the days that he dwelt in the country of the Philistines.
12 And Aḵish trusted Dawiḏ, saying to himself, “He has indeed made himself a stench to his people in Yisra’ĕl, and has become my servant forever.”
EPHESIANS 5-6
5 | 1 Become, then, imitators of Elohim as beloved children.
2 And walk in love, as Messiah also has loved us, and gave Himself for us, a gift and an offering to Elohim for a sweet-smelling fragrance.
3 But whoring and all uncleanness, or greed of gain, let it not even be named among you, as is proper among set-apart ones –
4 neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather thanksgiving.
5 For this you know, that no one who whores, nor unclean one, nor one greedy of gain, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the reign of Messiah and Elohim.
6 Let no one deceive you with empty words,a for because of these the wrath of Elohim comes upon the sons of disobedience.
7 Therefore do not become partakers with them.
8 For you were once darkness,a but now you are light in the Master. Walk as children of light –
9 for the fruit of the Spirita is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth –
10 proving what is well-pleasing to the Master.
11 And have no fellowship with the fruitless works of darkness, but rather reprovea them.
12 For it is a shame even to speak of what is done by them in secret.
13 But all matters being reproveda are manifested by the light, for whatever is manifested is light.
14 That is why He says, “Wake up, you who sleep, and arise from the dead, and Messiah shall shine on you.”
15 See then that you walk exactly, not as unwise, but as wise,
16 redeeming the time, because the days are wicked.
17 So then do not be foolish, but understand what the desire of יהוה is.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is loose behaviour, but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to each other in psalms and songs of praise and spiritual songs, singing and striking the strings in your heart to the Master,
20 giving thanks always for all to Elohim the Father, in the Name of our Master יהושע Messiah,
21 subjecting yourselves to each other in the feara of Elohim.
22 Wives, subject yourselves to your own husbands, as to the Master.
23 Because the husband is head of the wife, as also the Messiah is head of the assembly, and He is Saviour of the body.
24 But as the assembly is subject to Messiah, so also let the wives be to their own husbands in every respect.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Messiah also did love the assembly and gave Himself for it,
26 in order to set it apart and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word,a
27 in order to present it to Himself a splendid assembly, not having spot or wrinkle or any of this sort, but that it might be set-apart and blameless.
28 In this way husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.
29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but feeds and cherishes it, as also the Master does the assembly.
30 Because we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.
31 “For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.”
32 This secret is great, but I speak concerning Messiah and the assembly.
33 However, you too, everyone, let each one love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she fears her husband.
6 | 1 Children, obey your parents in the Master, for this is right.
2 “Respect your father and mother,” which is the first command with promise,
3 in order that it might be well with you, and you might live long on the earth.”
4 And you, fathers, do not provoke your children, but bring them up in the instruction and admonition of the Master.
5 Servants, obey your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Messiah;
6 not with eye-service as men-pleasers, but as servants of Messiah, doing the desire of Elohim from the inner self,a
7 rendering service with pleasure, as to the Master, and not to men,
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he shall receive the same from the Master, whether he is slave or free.
9 And, masters, do the same to them, refrain from threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in the heavens, and there is no partiality with Him.
10 For the rest, my brothers, be strong in the Master and in the mightiness of His strength.
11 Put on the complete armour of Elohim, for you to have power to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12 Because we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against authorities, against the world-rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual matters of wickedness in the heavenlies.
13 Because of this, take up the complete armour of Elohim, so that you have power to withstand in the wicked day, and having done all, to stand.
14 Stand, then, having girded your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
15 and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;
16 above all, having taken up the shield of belief with which you shall have power to quench all the burning arrows of the wicked one.
17 Take also the helmet of deliverance, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of Elohim,a
18 praying at all times, with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, watching in all perseverance and supplication for all the set-apart ones;
19 also for me, that a word might be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to be bold in making known the secret of the Good News,
20 for which I am an envoy in chains, that in it I might speak boldly, as I should speak.
21 Now, in order that you also might know about me, how I am doing, Tuchikos, a beloved brother and trustworthy servant in the Master, shall make all matters known to you,
22 whom I did send to you for this same purpose, so that you know about us, and might encourage your hearts.
23 Peace to the brothers, and love, with belief, from Elohim the Father and the Master יהושע Messiah.
24 Favour be with all those who love our Master יהושע Messiah, undecayingly! Amĕn.
Job 39
39 | 1 “Do you know the time when the wild mountain goats bear young? Or do you observe when the deer gives birth?
2 Do you number the months they complete? Or do you know the time when they bear young?
3 They bow down, they bring forth their young, their labour pains are ended.
4 Their young ones are thriving, they grow up in the field. They shall leave and shall not return to them.
5 Who set the wild donkey free? Who loosed the bonds of the wild donkey,
6 whose home I have made the desert, and the salt land his dwelling?
7 He laughs at the commotion of the city; he does not hear the shouts of the driver.
8 The range of the mountains is his pasture, and he searches for all that is green.
9 Would the wild ox be pleased to serve you? Or spend the night by your feeding trough?
10 If you bind the wild ox in the furrow with ropes, would he plough the valleys behind you?
11 Would you rely on his great strength? Or would you leave your labour to him?
12 Would you trust him to bring home your grain, and gather it to your threshing-floor?
13 The wings of the ostrich flap joyously, but they are not the pinions and plumage of kindness!
14 She leaves her eggs on the ground, and warms them in the dust;
15 and she forgets that a foot might crush them, or a wild beast tread on them.
16 She treats her young harshly, as if not hers; her toil is in vain, without fear,
17 because Eloah has made her forget wisdom, and did not endow her with understanding.
18 When she lifts herself on high, she laughs at the horse and its rider.
19 Have you given the horse strength? Have you covered his neck with a mane?
20 Would you make him leap like a locust? His splendid snorting is frightening.
21 He paws in the valley, and rejoices in strength. He gallops into the clash of arms.
22 He laughs at fear, and is not frightened; nor does he turn back from the sword.
23 The quiver rattles against him, the glittering spear and lance.
24 He eats up the ground with fierceness and rage, and he does not stand still when the ram’s horn sounds.
25 At the blast of the ram’s horn he says, ‘Aha!’ And from afar he smells the battle, the thunder of commanders and shouting.
26 Does the hawk fly by your wisdom, spreading its wings toward the south?
27 Does the eagle mount up at your command, and make its nest on high?
28 It dwells on the rock, and lodges on the crag of the rock and the stronghold.
29 From there it searches out the prey, its eyes see it from afar.
30 And its young ones suck up blood. And where the slain are, there it is!”
2 Baruk 54-56
(CEPHER TRANSLATION)
54 | 1 AND I besought EL ELOHIYM and said: You alone, O ADONAI, know of aforetime the deep things of the world and the things which befall in their times you bring about by your word and against the works of the inhabitants of the earth you hasten the beginnings of the times and the end of the seasons you alone know.
2 You for whom nothing is too hard, but who does everything easily by a nod:
3 You to whom the depths come as the heights and whose word the beginnings of the ages serve:
4 You who reveal to those who fear you what is prepared for them that thenceforth they may be comforted.
5 You show great acts to those who know not; you break up the enclosure of those who are ignorant and light up what is dark and reveal what is hidden to the pure who in belief have submitted themselves to you and your Torah.
6 You have shown to your servant this vision; reveal to me also its interpretation.
7 For I know that as regards those things wherein I besought you, I have received a response and as regards what I besought you did reveal to me with what voice I should praise you and from what members I should cause praises and halleluyahs to ascend to you.
8 For if my members were mouths and the hairs of my head voices even so I could not give you the meet of praise nor laud you as is befitting nor could I recount your praise nor tell the glory of your beauty.
9 For what am I amongst men, or why am I reckoned amongst those who are more excellent than I that I have heard all these marvellous things from EL ELYON and numberless promises from him who created me?
10 Blessed be my mother among those that bare and praised among women be she that bore me.
11 For I will not be silent in praising EL ELOHIYM and with the voice of praise I will recount his marvellous deeds.
12 For who does like unto your marvellous deeds, O ELOHIYM, or who comprehends your deep thought of life.
13 For with your counsel you do govern all the creatures which your right hand has created and you have established every fountain of light beside you and the treasures of wisdom beneath your throne have you prepared.
14 And justly do they perish who have not loved your Torah, and the torment of judgment shall await those who have not submitted themselves to your power.
15 For though A’dam first sinned and brought untimely death upon all, yet of those who were born from him each one of them has prepared for his own soul torment to come, and again each one of them has chosen for himself glories to come.
16 For assuredly he who believes will receive reward.
17 But now, as for you, ye wicked that now are, turn ye to destruction, because ye shall speedily be visited, in that formerly ye rejected the understanding of EL ELYON.
18 For his works have not taught you, nor has the skill of his creation which is at all times persuaded you.
19 A’dam is therefore not the cause; save only of his own soul, but each of us has been the A’dam of his own soul.
20 But you, O YAHUAH, do expound to me regarding those things which you have revealed to me and inform me regarding that which I besought you.
21 For at the consummation of the world vengeance shall be taken upon those who have done wickedness according to their wickedness and you will glorify the faithful according to their faithfulness.
22 For those who are amongst your own you rule, and those who sin, you blot out from amongst your own.
55 | 1 AND it came to pass when I had finished speaking the words of this prayer, that I sat there under a tree, that I might rest in the shade of the branches.
2 And I wondered and was astonished, and pondered in my thoughts regarding the multitude of goodness which sinners who are upon the earth have rejected, and regarding the great torment which they have despised, though they knew that they should be tormented because of the sin they had committed.
3 And when I was pondering on these things and the like, lo! the angel Ramiy’el who presides over true visions was sent to me, and he said unto me:
4 Why does your heart trouble you, Baruk, and why does your thought disturb you?
5 For if owing to the report which you have only heard of judgment you are so moved what will you be when you shall see it manifestly with your eyes?
6 And if with the expectation wherewith you do expect the day of EL ELOHIYM you are so overcome, what will you be when you shall come to its advent?
7 And, if at the word of the announcement of the torment of those who have done foolishly you are so wholly distraught, how much more when the event will reveal marvellous things? And if you have heard tidings of the good and evil things which are then coming and are grieved, what will you be when you shall behold what the majesty will reveal, which shall convict these and cause those to rejoice.
56 | 1 NEVERTHELESS, because you have besought EL ELYON to reveal to you the interpretation of the vision which you have seen, I have been sent to tell you.
2 And EL ELOHIYM has assuredly made known to you the methods of the times that have passed, and of those that are destined to pass in his world from the beginning of its creation even unto its consummation, of those things which are deceit and of those which are in truth.
3 For as you did see a great cloud which ascended from the sea, and went and covered the earth; this is the duration of the world which EL ELOHIYM made when he took counsel to make the world.
4 And it came to pass when the word had gone forth from his presence that the duration of the world had come into being in a small degree, and was established according to the multitude of the intelligence of him who sent it.
5 And as you did previously see on the summit of the cloud black waters which descended previously on the earth, this is the transgression wherewith A’dam the first man transgressed.
6 For since when he transgressed untimely death came into being, grief was named and anguish was prepared, and pain was created, and trouble consummated, and disease began to be established, and She’ol kept demanding that it should be renewed in blood, and the begetting of children was brought about, and the passion of parents produced, and the greatness of man was humiliated, and goodness languished.
7 What therefore can be blacker or darker than these things?
8 This is the beginning of the black waters which you have seen.
9 And from these black waters again were black derived, and the darkness of darkness was produced.
10 For he became a danger to his own soul: even to the angels became he a danger.
11 For, moreover, at that time when he was created, they enjoyed liberty.
12 And some of them descended, and mingled with the women.
13 And then those who did so were tormented in chains.
14 But the rest of the multitude of the angels, of which there is no number, restrained themselves.
15 And those who dwelt on the earth perished together with them through the waters of the deluge.
16 These are the black first waters.
Thank you for joining us as we read through the entire WORD of GOD! As for me and My House, we will serve the LORD.
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