October 31st - Day 304

Lamentations 4-5:22



Lamentations 4

1[a] How the gold has lost its luster,

the fine gold become dull!

The sacred gems are scattered

at the head of every street.

2 How the precious sons of Zion,

once worth their weight in gold,

are now considered as pots of clay,

the work of a potter's hands!

3 Even jackals offer their breasts

to nurse their young,

but my people have become heartless

like ostriches in the desert.

4 Because of thirst the infant's tongue

sticks to the roof of its mouth;

the children beg for bread,

but no one gives it to them.

5 Those who once ate delicacies

are destitute in the streets.

Those nurtured in purple

now lie on ash heaps.

6 The punishment of my people

is greater than that of Sodom,

which was overthrown in a moment

without a hand turned to help her.

7 Their princes were brighter than snow

and whiter than milk,

their bodies more ruddy than rubies,

their appearance like sapphires. [b]

8 But now they are blacker than soot;

they are not recognized in the streets.

Their skin has shriveled on their bones;

it has become as dry as a stick.

9 Those killed by the sword are better off

than those who die of famine;

racked with hunger, they waste away

for lack of food from the field.

10 With their own hands compassionate women

have cooked their own children,

who became their food

when my people were destroyed.

11 The LORD has given full vent to his wrath;

he has poured out his fierce anger.

He kindled a fire in Zion

that consumed her foundations.

12 The kings of the earth did not believe,

nor did any of the world's people,

that enemies and foes could enter

the gates of Jerusalem.

13 But it happened because of the sins of her prophets

and the iniquities of her priests,

who shed within her

the blood of the righteous.

14 Now they grope through the streets

like men who are blind.

They are so defiled with blood

that no one dares to touch their garments.

15 "Go away! You are unclean!" men cry to them.

"Away! Away! Don't touch us!"

When they flee and wander about,

people among the nations say,

"They can stay here no longer."

16 The LORD himself has scattered them;

he no longer watches over them.

The priests are shown no honor,

the elders no favor.

17 Moreover, our eyes failed,

looking in vain for help;

from our towers we watched

for a nation that could not save us.

18 Men stalked us at every step,

so we could not walk in our streets.

Our end was near, our days were numbered,

for our end had come.

19 Our pursuers were swifter

than eagles in the sky;

they chased us over the mountains

and lay in wait for us in the desert.

20 The LORD's anointed, our very life breath,

was caught in their traps.

We thought that under his shadow

we would live among the nations.

21 Rejoice and be glad, O Daughter of Edom,

you who live in the land of Uz.

But to you also the cup will be passed;

you will be drunk and stripped naked.

22 O Daughter of Zion, your punishment will end;

he will not prolong your exile.

But, O Daughter of Edom, he will punish your sin

and expose your wickedness.

Lamentations 5

1 Remember, O LORD, what has happened to us;

look, and see our disgrace.

2 Our inheritance has been turned over to aliens,

our homes to foreigners.

3 We have become orphans and fatherless,

our mothers like widows.

4 We must buy the water we drink;

our wood can be had only at a price.

5 Those who pursue us are at our heels;

we are weary and find no rest.

6 We submitted to Egypt and Assyria

to get enough bread.

7 Our fathers sinned and are no more,

and we bear their punishment.

8 Slaves rule over us,

and there is none to free us from their hands.

9 We get our bread at the risk of our lives

because of the sword in the desert.

10 Our skin is hot as an oven,

feverish from hunger.

11 Women have been ravished in Zion,

and virgins in the towns of Judah.

12 Princes have been hung up by their hands;

elders are shown no respect.

13 Young men toil at the millstones;

boys stagger under loads of wood.

14 The elders are gone from the city gate;

the young men have stopped their music.

15 Joy is gone from our hearts;

our dancing has turned to mourning.

16 The crown has fallen from our head.

Woe to us, for we have sinned!

17 Because of this our hearts are faint,

because of these things our eyes grow dim

18 for Mount Zion, which lies desolate,

with jackals prowling over it.

19 You, O LORD, reign forever;

your throne endures from generation to generation.

20 Why do you always forget us?

Why do you forsake us so long?

21 Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return;

renew our days as of old

22 unless you have utterly rejected us

and are angry with us beyond measure.

Footnotes:

1. Lamentations 4:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
   
2. Lamentations 4:7 Or lapis lazuli

Hebrews 2:1-18



Hebrews 2

Warning to Pay Attention

1We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, 3how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him. 4God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

Jesus Made Like His Brothers

5It is not to angels that he has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking. 6But there is a place where someone has testified:

"What is man that you are mindful of him,

the son of man that you care for him?

7You made him a little[a] lower than the angels;

you crowned him with glory and honor

8 and put everything under his feet." [b]

In putting everything under him, God left nothing that is not subject to him. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting that God, for whom and through whom everything exists, should make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers. 12He says,

"I will declare your name to my brothers;

in the presence of the congregation I will sing your praises."[c] 13And again,

"I will put my trust in him."[d] And again he says,

"Here am I, and the children God has given me."[e]

14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. 17For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for[f]the sins of the people. 18Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Footnotes:

1. Hebrews 2:7 Or him for a little while; also in verse 9
   
2. Hebrews 2:8 Psalm 8:4-6
   
3. Hebrews 2:12 Psalm 22:22
   
4. Hebrews 2:13 Isaiah 8:17
   
5. Hebrews 2:13 Isaiah 8:18
   
6. Hebrews 2:17 Or and that he might turn aside God's wrath, taking away

Psalm 103:1-22



Psalm 103

Of David.

1 Praise the LORD, O my soul;

all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

2 Praise the LORD, O my soul,

and forget not all his benefits-

3 who forgives all your sins

and heals all your diseases,

4 who redeems your life from the pit

and crowns you with love and compassion,

5 who satisfies your desires with good things

so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

6 The LORD works righteousness

and justice for all the oppressed.

7 He made known his ways to Moses,

his deeds to the people of Israel:

8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,

slow to anger, abounding in love.

9 He will not always accuse,

nor will he harbor his anger forever;

10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve

or repay us according to our iniquities.

11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him;

12 as far as the east is from the west,

so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

13 As a father has compassion on his children,

so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

14 for he knows how we are formed,

he remembers that we are dust.

15 As for man, his days are like grass,

he flourishes like a flower of the field;

16 the wind blows over it and it is gone,

and its place remembers it no more.

17 But from everlasting to everlasting

the LORD's love is with those who fear him,

and his righteousness with their children's children-

18 with those who keep his covenant

and remember to obey his precepts.

19 The LORD has established his throne in heaven,

and his kingdom rules over all.

20 Praise the LORD, you his angels,

you mighty ones who do his bidding,

who obey his word.

21 Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,

you his servants who do his will.

22 Praise the LORD, all his works

everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the LORD, O my soul.

Proverbs 26:23



23 Like a coating of glaze [a] over earthenware

are fervent lips with an evil heart.

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 26:23 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text of silver dross

October 30th - Day 303

Lamentations 3:1-66



Lamentations 3

1 [a] I am the man who has seen affliction

by the rod of his wrath.

2 He has driven me away and made me walk

in darkness rather than light;

3 indeed, he has turned his hand against me

again and again, all day long.

4 He has made my skin and my flesh grow old

and has broken my bones.

5 He has besieged me and surrounded me

with bitterness and hardship.

6 He has made me dwell in darkness

like those long dead.

7 He has walled me in so I cannot escape;

he has weighed me down with chains.

8 Even when I call out or cry for help,

he shuts out my prayer.

9 He has barred my way with blocks of stone;

he has made my paths crooked.

10 Like a bear lying in wait,

like a lion in hiding,

11 he dragged me from the path and mangled me

and left me without help.

12 He drew his bow

and made me the target for his arrows.

13 He pierced my heart

with arrows from his quiver.

14 I became the laughingstock of all my people;

they mock me in song all day long.

15 He has filled me with bitter herbs

and sated me with gall.

16 He has broken my teeth with gravel;

he has trampled me in the dust.

17 I have been deprived of peace;

I have forgotten what prosperity is.

18 So I say, "My splendor is gone

and all that I had hoped from the LORD."

19 I remember my affliction and my wandering,

the bitterness and the gall.

20 I well remember them,

and my soul is downcast within me.

21 Yet this I call to mind

and therefore I have hope:

22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,

for his compassions never fail.

23 They are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion;

therefore I will wait for him."

25 The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him,

to the one who seeks him;

26 it is good to wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.

27 It is good for a man to bear the yoke

while he is young.

28 Let him sit alone in silence,

for the LORD has laid it on him.

29 Let him bury his face in the dust—

there may yet be hope.

30 Let him offer his cheek to one who would strike him,

and let him be filled with disgrace.

31 For men are not cast off

by the Lord forever.

32 Though he brings grief, he will show compassion,

so great is his unfailing love.

33 For he does not willingly bring affliction

or grief to the children of men.

34 To crush underfoot

all prisoners in the land,

35 to deny a man his rights

before the Most High,

36 to deprive a man of justice—

would not the Lord see such things?

37 Who can speak and have it happen

if the Lord has not decreed it?

38 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

that both calamities and good things come?

39 Why should any living man complain

when punished for his sins?

40 Let us examine our ways and test them,

and let us return to the LORD.

41 Let us lift up our hearts and our hands

to God in heaven, and say:

42 "We have sinned and rebelled

and you have not forgiven.

43 "You have covered yourself with anger and pursued us;

you have slain without pity.

44 You have covered yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can get through.

45 You have made us scum and refuse

among the nations.

46 "All our enemies have opened their mouths

wide against us.

47 We have suffered terror and pitfalls,

ruin and destruction."

48 Streams of tears flow from my eyes

because my people are destroyed.

49 My eyes will flow unceasingly,

without relief,

50 until the LORD looks down

from heaven and sees.

51 What I see brings grief to my soul

because of all the women of my city.

52 Those who were my enemies without cause

hunted me like a bird.

53 They tried to end my life in a pit

and threw stones at me;

54 the waters closed over my head,

and I thought I was about to be cut off.

55 I called on your name, O LORD,

from the depths of the pit.

56 You heard my plea: "Do not close your ears

to my cry for relief."

57 You came near when I called you,

and you said, "Do not fear."

58 O Lord, you took up my case;

you redeemed my life.

59 You have seen, O LORD, the wrong done to me.

Uphold my cause!

60 You have seen the depth of their vengeance,

all their plots against me.

61 O LORD, you have heard their insults,

all their plots against me-

62 what my enemies whisper and mutter

against me all day long.

63 Look at them! Sitting or standing,

they mock me in their songs.

64 Pay them back what they deserve, O LORD,

for what their hands have done.

65 Put a veil over their hearts,

and may your curse be on them!

66 Pursue them in anger and destroy them

from under the heavens of the LORD.

Footnotes:

1. Lamentations 3:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem; the verses of each stanza begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and the verses within each stanza begin with the same letter.

Hebrews 1:1-14



Hebrews 1

The Son Superior to Angels

1In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs.

5For to which of the angels did God ever say,

"You are my Son;

today I have become your Father[a]"[b]? Or again,

"I will be his Father,

and he will be my Son"[c]? 6And again, when God brings his firstborn into the world, he says,

"Let all God's angels worship him."[d] 7In speaking of the angels he says,

"He makes his angels winds,

his servants flames of fire."[e] 8But about the Son he says,

"Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever,

and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom.

9You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness;

therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

by anointing you with the oil of joy."[f] 10He also says,

"In the beginning, O Lord, you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

11They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

12You will roll them up like a robe;

like a garment they will be changed.

But you remain the same,

and your years will never end."[g] 13To which of the angels did God ever say,

"Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies

a footstool for your feet"[h]? 14Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Footnotes:

1. Hebrews 1:5 Or have begotten you
   
2. Hebrews 1:5 Psalm 2:7
   
3. Hebrews 1:5 2 Samuel 7:14; 1 Chron. 17:13
   
4. Hebrews 1:6 Deut. 32:43 (see Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint)
   
5. Hebrews 1:7 Psalm 104:4
   
6. Hebrews 1:9 Psalm 45:6,7
   
7. Hebrews 1:12 Psalm 102:25-27
   
8. Hebrews 1:13 Psalm 110:1

Psalm 102:1-28



Psalm 102

A prayer of an afflicted man. When he is faint and pours out his lament before the LORD.

1 Hear my prayer, O LORD;

let my cry for help come to you.

2 Do not hide your face from me

when I am in distress.

Turn your ear to me;

when I call, answer me quickly.

3 For my days vanish like smoke;

my bones burn like glowing embers.

4 My heart is blighted and withered like grass;

I forget to eat my food.

5 Because of my loud groaning

I am reduced to skin and bones.

6 I am like a desert owl,

like an owl among the ruins.

7 I lie awake; I have become

like a bird alone on a roof.

8 All day long my enemies taunt me;

those who rail against me use my name as a curse.

9 For I eat ashes as my food

and mingle my drink with tears

10 because of your great wrath,

for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.

11 My days are like the evening shadow;

I wither away like grass.

12 But you, O LORD, sit enthroned forever;

your renown endures through all generations.

13 You will arise and have compassion on Zion,

for it is time to show favor to her;

the appointed time has come.

14 For her stones are dear to your servants;

her very dust moves them to pity.

15 The nations will fear the name of the LORD,

all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.

16 For the LORD will rebuild Zion

and appear in his glory.

17 He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;

he will not despise their plea.

18 Let this be written for a future generation,

that a people not yet created may praise the LORD :

19 "The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,

from heaven he viewed the earth,

20 to hear the groans of the prisoners

and release those condemned to death."

21 So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion

and his praise in Jerusalem

22 when the peoples and the kingdoms

assemble to worship the LORD.

23 In the course of my life [a] he broke my strength;

he cut short my days.

24 So I said:

"Do not take me away, O my God, in the midst of my days;

your years go on through all generations.

25 In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,

and the heavens are the work of your hands.

26 They will perish, but you remain;

they will all wear out like a garment.

Like clothing you will change them

and they will be discarded.

27 But you remain the same,

and your years will never end.

28 The children of your servants will live in your presence;

their descendants will be established before you."

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 102:23 Or By his power

Proverbs 26:21-22



21 As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire,

so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife.

22 The words of a gossip are like choice morsels;

they go down to a man's inmost parts.

October 29th - Day 302

Lamentations 1-2:22



Lamentations 11 [a] How deserted lies the city,

once so full of people!

How like a widow is she,

who once was great among the nations!

She who was queen among the provinces

has now become a slave.

2 Bitterly she weeps at night,

tears are upon her cheeks.

Among all her lovers

there is none to comfort her.

All her friends have betrayed her;

they have become her enemies.

3 After affliction and harsh labor,

Judah has gone into exile.

She dwells among the nations;

she finds no resting place.

All who pursue her have overtaken her

in the midst of her distress.

4 The roads to Zion mourn,

for no one comes to her appointed feasts.

All her gateways are desolate,

her priests groan,

her maidens grieve,

and she is in bitter anguish.

5 Her foes have become her masters;

her enemies are at ease.

The LORD has brought her grief

because of her many sins.

Her children have gone into exile,

captive before the foe.

6 All the splendor has departed

from the Daughter of Zion.

Her princes are like deer

that find no pasture;

in weakness they have fled

before the pursuer.

7 In the days of her affliction and wandering

Jerusalem remembers all the treasures

that were hers in days of old.

When her people fell into enemy hands,

there was no one to help her.

Her enemies looked at her

and laughed at her destruction.

8 Jerusalem has sinned greatly

and so has become unclean.

All who honored her despise her,

for they have seen her nakedness;

she herself groans

and turns away.

9 Her filthiness clung to her skirts;

she did not consider her future.

Her fall was astounding;

there was none to comfort her.

"Look, O LORD, on my affliction,

for the enemy has triumphed."

10 The enemy laid hands

on all her treasures;

she saw pagan nations

enter her sanctuary—

those you had forbidden

to enter your assembly.

11 All her people groan

as they search for bread;

they barter their treasures for food

to keep themselves alive.

"Look, O LORD, and consider,

for I am despised."

12 "Is it nothing to you, all you who pass by?

Look around and see.

Is any suffering like my suffering

that was inflicted on me,

that the LORD brought on me

in the day of his fierce anger?

13 "From on high he sent fire,

sent it down into my bones.

He spread a net for my feet

and turned me back.

He made me desolate,

faint all the day long.

14 "My sins have been bound into a yoke [b];

by his hands they were woven together.

They have come upon my neck

and the Lord has sapped my strength.

He has handed me over

to those I cannot withstand.

15 "The Lord has rejected

all the warriors in my midst;

he has summoned an army against me

to [c] crush my young men.

In his winepress the Lord has trampled

the Virgin Daughter of Judah.

16 "This is why I weep

and my eyes overflow with tears.

No one is near to comfort me,

no one to restore my spirit.

My children are destitute

because the enemy has prevailed."

17 Zion stretches out her hands,

but there is no one to comfort her.

The LORD has decreed for Jacob

that his neighbors become his foes;

Jerusalem has become

an unclean thing among them.

18 "The LORD is righteous,

yet I rebelled against his command.

Listen, all you peoples;

look upon my suffering.

My young men and maidens

have gone into exile.

19 "I called to my allies

but they betrayed me.

My priests and my elders

perished in the city

while they searched for food

to keep themselves alive.

20 "See, O LORD, how distressed I am!

I am in torment within,

and in my heart I am disturbed,

for I have been most rebellious.

Outside, the sword bereaves;

inside, there is only death.

21 "People have heard my groaning,

but there is no one to comfort me.

All my enemies have heard of my distress;

they rejoice at what you have done.

May you bring the day you have announced

so they may become like me.

22 "Let all their wickedness come before you;

deal with them

as you have dealt with me

because of all my sins.

My groans are many

and my heart is faint."

Lamentations 2

1[d] How the Lord has covered the Daughter of Zion

with the cloud of his anger [e] !

He has hurled down the splendor of Israel

from heaven to earth;

he has not remembered his footstool

in the day of his anger.

2 Without pity the Lord has swallowed up

all the dwellings of Jacob;

in his wrath he has torn down

the strongholds of the Daughter of Judah.

He has brought her kingdom and its princes

down to the ground in dishonor.

3 In fierce anger he has cut off

every horn [f] of Israel.

He has withdrawn his right hand

at the approach of the enemy.

He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire

that consumes everything around it.

4 Like an enemy he has strung his bow;

his right hand is ready.

Like a foe he has slain

all who were pleasing to the eye;

he has poured out his wrath like fire

on the tent of the Daughter of Zion.

5 The Lord is like an enemy;

he has swallowed up Israel.

He has swallowed up all her palaces

and destroyed her strongholds.

He has multiplied mourning and lamentation

for the Daughter of Judah.

6 He has laid waste his dwelling like a garden;

he has destroyed his place of meeting.

The LORD has made Zion forget

her appointed feasts and her Sabbaths;

in his fierce anger he has spurned

both king and priest.

7 The Lord has rejected his altar

and abandoned his sanctuary.

He has handed over to the enemy

the walls of her palaces;

they have raised a shout in the house of the LORD

as on the day of an appointed feast.

8 The LORD determined to tear down

the wall around the Daughter of Zion.

He stretched out a measuring line

and did not withhold his hand from destroying.

He made ramparts and walls lament;

together they wasted away.

9 Her gates have sunk into the ground;

their bars he has broken and destroyed.

Her king and her princes are exiled among the nations,

the law is no more,

and her prophets no longer find

visions from the LORD.

10 The elders of the Daughter of Zion

sit on the ground in silence;

they have sprinkled dust on their heads

and put on sackcloth.

The young women of Jerusalem

have bowed their heads to the ground.

11 My eyes fail from weeping,

I am in torment within,

my heart is poured out on the ground

because my people are destroyed,

because children and infants faint

in the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers,

"Where is bread and wine?"

as they faint like wounded men

in the streets of the city,

as their lives ebb away

in their mothers' arms.

13 What can I say for you?

With what can I compare you,

O Daughter of Jerusalem?

To what can I liken you,

that I may comfort you,

O Virgin Daughter of Zion?

Your wound is as deep as the sea.

Who can heal you?

14 The visions of your prophets

were false and worthless;

they did not expose your sin

to ward off your captivity.

The oracles they gave you

were false and misleading.

15 All who pass your way

clap their hands at you;

they scoff and shake their heads

at the Daughter of Jerusalem:

"Is this the city that was called

the perfection of beauty,

the joy of the whole earth?"

16 All your enemies open their mouths

wide against you;

they scoff and gnash their teeth

and say, "We have swallowed her up.

This is the day we have waited for;

we have lived to see it."

17 The LORD has done what he planned;

he has fulfilled his word,

which he decreed long ago.

He has overthrown you without pity,

he has let the enemy gloat over you,

he has exalted the horn [g] of your foes.

18 The hearts of the people

cry out to the Lord.

O wall of the Daughter of Zion,

let your tears flow like a river

day and night;

give yourself no relief,

your eyes no rest.

19 Arise, cry out in the night,

as the watches of the night begin;

pour out your heart like water

in the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your hands to him

for the lives of your children,

who faint from hunger

at the head of every street.

20 "Look, O LORD, and consider:

Whom have you ever treated like this?

Should women eat their offspring,

the children they have cared for?

Should priest and prophet be killed

in the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 "Young and old lie together

in the dust of the streets;

my young men and maidens

have fallen by the sword.

You have slain them in the day of your anger;

you have slaughtered them without pity.

22 "As you summon to a feast day,

so you summoned against me terrors on every side.

In the day of the LORD's anger

no one escaped or survived;

those I cared for and reared,

my enemy has destroyed."

Footnotes:

1. Lamentations 1:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
   
2. Lamentations 1:14 Most Hebrew manuscripts; Septuagint He kept watch over my sins
   
3. Lamentations 1:15 Or has set a time for me / when he will
   
4. Lamentations 2:1 This chapter is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
   
5. Lamentations 2:1 Or How the Lord in his anger / has treated the Daughter of Zion with contempt
   
6. Lamentations 2:3 Or / all the strength; or every king; horn here symbolizes strength.
   
7. Lamentations 2:17 Horn here symbolizes strength.

Philemon 1:1-25



Philemon 1

1Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother,

To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier and to the church that meets in your home:

3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thanksgiving and Prayer

4I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, 5because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints. 6I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ. 7Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.

Paul's Plea for Onesimus

8Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, 9yet I appeal to you on the basis of love. I then, as Paul—an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus— 10I appeal to you for my son Onesimus,[a] who became my son while I was in chains. 11Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

12I am sending him—who is my very heart—back to you. 13I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. 14But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do will be spontaneous and not forced. 15Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good— 16no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a man and as a brother in the Lord.

17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. 18If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. 19I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back—not to mention that you owe me your very self. 20I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. 21Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

22And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers.

23Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. 24And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers.

25The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.

Footnotes:

1. Philemon 1:10 Onesimus means useful.

Psalm 101:1-8



Psalm 101

Of David. A psalm.

1 I will sing of your love and justice;

to you, O LORD, I will sing praise.

2 I will be careful to lead a blameless life—

when will you come to me?

I will walk in my house

with blameless heart.

3 I will set before my eyes

no vile thing.

The deeds of faithless men I hate;

they will not cling to me.

4 Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;

I will have nothing to do with evil.

5 Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,

him will I put to silence;

whoever has haughty eyes and a proud heart,

him will I not endure.

6 My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he whose walk is blameless

will minister to me.

7 No one who practices deceit

will dwell in my house;

no one who speaks falsely

will stand in my presence.

8 Every morning I will put to silence

all the wicked in the land;

I will cut off every evildoer

from the city of the LORD.

Proverbs 26:20



20 Without wood a fire goes out;

without gossip a quarrel dies down.

October 28th - Day 301

Jeremiah 51:54-52:34

54 "The sound of a cry comes from Babylon,

the sound of great destruction

from the land of the Babylonians. [a]

55 The LORD will destroy Babylon;

he will silence her noisy din.

Waves of enemies will rage like great waters;

the roar of their voices will resound.

56 A destroyer will come against Babylon;

her warriors will be captured,

and their bows will be broken.

For the LORD is a God of retribution;

he will repay in full.

57 I will make her officials and wise men drunk,

her governors, officers and warriors as well;

they will sleep forever and not awake,"

declares the King, whose name is the LORD Almighty.

58 This is what the LORD Almighty says:

"Babylon's thick wall will be leveled

and her high gates set on fire;

the peoples exhaust themselves for nothing,

the nations' labor is only fuel for the flames."

59 This is the message Jeremiah gave to the staff officer Seraiah son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, when he went to Babylon with Zedekiah king of Judah in the fourth year of his reign. 60 Jeremiah had written on a scroll about all the disasters that would come upon Babylon—all that had been recorded concerning Babylon. 61 He said to Seraiah, "When you get to Babylon, see that you read all these words aloud. 62 Then say, 'O LORD, you have said you will destroy this place, so that neither man nor animal will live in it; it will be desolate forever.' 63 When you finish reading this scroll, tie a stone to it and throw it into the Euphrates. 64 Then say, 'So will Babylon sink to rise no more because of the disaster I will bring upon her. And her people will fall.' "

The words of Jeremiah end here.

Jeremiah 52

The Fall of Jerusalem

1 Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother's name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah. 2 He did evil in the eyes of the LORD, just as Jehoiakim had done. 3 It was because of the LORD's anger that all this happened to Jerusalem and Judah, and in the end he thrust them from his presence.

Now Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.

4 So in the ninth year of Zedekiah's reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. They camped outside the city and built siege works all around it. 5 The city was kept under siege until the eleventh year of King Zedekiah.

6 By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city had become so severe that there was no food for the people to eat. 7 Then the city wall was broken through, and the whole army fled. They left the city at night through the gate between the two walls near the king's garden, though the Babylonians [b] were surrounding the city. They fled toward the Arabah, [c] 8 but the Babylonian [d] army pursued King Zedekiah and overtook him in the plains of Jericho. All his soldiers were separated from him and scattered, 9 and he was captured.

He was taken to the king of Babylon at Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he pronounced sentence on him. 10 There at Riblah the king of Babylon slaughtered the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes; he also killed all the officials of Judah. 11 Then he put out Zedekiah's eyes, bound him with bronze shackles and took him to Babylon, where he put him in prison till the day of his death.

12 On the tenth day of the fifth month, in the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, Nebuzaradan commander of the imperial guard, who served the king of Babylon, came to Jerusalem. 13 He set fire to the temple of the LORD, the royal palace and all the houses of Jerusalem. Every important building he burned down. 14 The whole Babylonian army under the commander of the imperial guard broke down all the walls around Jerusalem. 15 Nebuzaradan the commander of the guard carried into exile some of the poorest people and those who remained in the city, along with the rest of the craftsmen [e] and those who had gone over to the king of Babylon. 16 But Nebuzaradan left behind the rest of the poorest people of the land to work the vineyards and fields.

17 The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the movable stands and the bronze Sea that were at the temple of the LORD and they carried all the bronze to Babylon. 18 They also took away the pots, shovels, wick trimmers, sprinkling bowls, dishes and all the bronze articles used in the temple service. 19 The commander of the imperial guard took away the basins, censers, sprinkling bowls, pots, lampstands, dishes and bowls used for drink offerings—all that were made of pure gold or silver.

20 The bronze from the two pillars, the Sea and the twelve bronze bulls under it, and the movable stands, which King Solomon had made for the temple of the LORD, was more than could be weighed. 21 Each of the pillars was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference [f] ; each was four fingers thick, and hollow. 22 The bronze capital on top of the one pillar was five cubits [g] high and was decorated with a network and pomegranates of bronze all around. The other pillar, with its pomegranates, was similar. 23 There were ninety-six pomegranates on the sides; the total number of pomegranates above the surrounding network was a hundred.

24 The commander of the guard took as prisoners Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest next in rank and the three doorkeepers. 25 Of those still in the city, he took the officer in charge of the fighting men, and seven royal advisers. He also took the secretary who was chief officer in charge of conscripting the people of the land and sixty of his men who were found in the city. 26 Nebuzaradan the commander took them all and brought them to the king of Babylon at Riblah. 27 There at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king had them executed.

So Judah went into captivity, away from her land. 28 This is the number of the people Nebuchadnezzar carried into exile:

in the seventh year, 3,023 Jews;

29 in Nebuchadnezzar's eighteenth year,

832 people from Jerusalem;

30 in his twenty-third year,

745 Jews taken into exile by Nebuzaradan

the commander of the imperial guard.

There were 4,600 people in all.

Jehoiachin Released

31 In the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the year Evil-Merodach [h] became king of Babylon, he released Jehoiachin king of Judah and freed him from prison on the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month. 32 He spoke kindly to him and gave him a seat of honor higher than those of the other kings who were with him in Babylon. 33 So Jehoiachin put aside his prison clothes and for the rest of his life ate regularly at the king's table. 34 Day by day the king of Babylon gave Jehoiachin a regular allowance as long as he lived, till the day of his death.

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 51:54 Or Chaldeans
   
2. Jeremiah 52:7 Or Chaldeans ; also in verse 17
   
3. Jeremiah 52:7 Or the Jordan Valley
   
4. Jeremiah 52:8 Or Chaldean ; also in verse 14
   
5. Jeremiah 52:15 Or populace
   
6. Jeremiah 52:21 That is, about 27 feet (about 8.1 meters) high and 18 feet (about 5.4 meters) in circumference
   
7. Jeremiah 52:22 That is, about 7 1/2 feet (about 2.3 meters)
   
8. Jeremiah 52:31 Also called Amel-Marduk

Titus 3:1-15



Titus 3

Doing What is Good

1Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, 2to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men.

3At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, 6whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. 8This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone.

9But avoid foolish controversies and genealogies and arguments and quarrels about the law, because these are unprofitable and useless. 10Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. 11You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned.

Final Remarks

12As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there. 13Do everything you can to help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way and see that they have everything they need. 14Our people must learn to devote themselves to doing what is good, in order that they may provide for daily necessities and not live unproductive lives.

15Everyone with me sends you greetings. Greet those who love us in the faith.

Grace be with you all.

Psalm 100:1-5



Psalm 100

A psalm. For giving thanks.

1 Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth.

2 Worship the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

3 Know that the LORD is God.

It is he who made us, and we are his [a] ;

we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise;

give thanks to him and praise his name.

5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever;

his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 100:3 Or and not we ourselves

Proverbs 26:18-19



18 Like a madman shooting

firebrands or deadly arrows

19 is a man who deceives his neighbor

and says, "I was only joking!"

October 27th - Day 300

Jeremiah 51:1-53



Jeremiah 51

1 This is what the LORD says:

"See, I will stir up the spirit of a destroyer

against Babylon and the people of Leb Kamai. [a]

2 I will send foreigners to Babylon

to winnow her and to devastate her land;

they will oppose her on every side

in the day of her disaster.

3 Let not the archer string his bow,

nor let him put on his armor.

Do not spare her young men;

completely destroy [b] her army.

4 They will fall down slain in Babylon, [c]

fatally wounded in her streets.

5 For Israel and Judah have not been forsaken

by their God, the LORD Almighty,

though their land [d] is full of guilt

before the Holy One of Israel.

6 "Flee from Babylon!

Run for your lives!

Do not be destroyed because of her sins.

It is time for the LORD's vengeance;

he will pay her what she deserves.

7 Babylon was a gold cup in the LORD's hand;

she made the whole earth drunk.

The nations drank her wine;

therefore they have now gone mad.

8 Babylon will suddenly fall and be broken.

Wail over her!

Get balm for her pain;

perhaps she can be healed.

9 " 'We would have healed Babylon,

but she cannot be healed;

let us leave her and each go to his own land,

for her judgment reaches to the skies,

it rises as high as the clouds.'

10 " 'The LORD has vindicated us;

come, let us tell in Zion

what the LORD our God has done.'

11 "Sharpen the arrows,

take up the shields!

The LORD has stirred up the kings of the Medes,

because his purpose is to destroy Babylon.

The LORD will take vengeance,

vengeance for his temple.

12 Lift up a banner against the walls of Babylon!

Reinforce the guard,

station the watchmen,

prepare an ambush!

The LORD will carry out his purpose,

his decree against the people of Babylon.

13 You who live by many waters

and are rich in treasures,

your end has come,

the time for you to be cut off.

14 The LORD Almighty has sworn by himself:

I will surely fill you with men, as with a swarm of locusts,

and they will shout in triumph over you.

15 "He made the earth by his power;

he founded the world by his wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by his understanding.

16 When he thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

he makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

17 "Every man is senseless and without knowledge;

every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.

His images are a fraud;

they have no breath in them.

18 They are worthless, the objects of mockery;

when their judgment comes, they will perish.

19 He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,

for he is the Maker of all things,

including the tribe of his inheritance—

the LORD Almighty is his name.

20 "You are my war club,

my weapon for battle—

with you I shatter nations,

with you I destroy kingdoms,

21 with you I shatter horse and rider,

with you I shatter chariot and driver,

22 with you I shatter man and woman,

with you I shatter old man and youth,

with you I shatter young man and maiden,

23 with you I shatter shepherd and flock,

with you I shatter farmer and oxen,

with you I shatter governors and officials.

24 "Before your eyes I will repay Babylon and all who live in Babylonia [e] for all the wrong they have done in Zion," declares the LORD.

25 "I am against you, O destroying mountain,

you who destroy the whole earth,"

declares the LORD.

"I will stretch out my hand against you,

roll you off the cliffs,

and make you a burned-out mountain.

26 No rock will be taken from you for a cornerstone,

nor any stone for a foundation,

for you will be desolate forever,"

declares the LORD.

27 "Lift up a banner in the land!

Blow the trumpet among the nations!

Prepare the nations for battle against her;

summon against her these kingdoms:

Ararat, Minni and Ashkenaz.

Appoint a commander against her;

send up horses like a swarm of locusts.

28 Prepare the nations for battle against her—

the kings of the Medes,

their governors and all their officials,

and all the countries they rule.

29 The land trembles and writhes,

for the LORD's purposes against Babylon stand—

to lay waste the land of Babylon

so that no one will live there.

30 Babylon's warriors have stopped fighting;

they remain in their strongholds.

Their strength is exhausted;

they have become like women.

Her dwellings are set on fire;

the bars of her gates are broken.

31 One courier follows another

and messenger follows messenger

to announce to the king of Babylon

that his entire city is captured,

32 the river crossings seized,

the marshes set on fire,

and the soldiers terrified."

33 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:

"The Daughter of Babylon is like a threshing floor

at the time it is trampled;

the time to harvest her will soon come."

34 "Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured us,

he has thrown us into confusion,

he has made us an empty jar.

Like a serpent he has swallowed us

and filled his stomach with our delicacies,

and then has spewed us out.

35 May the violence done to our flesh [f] be upon Babylon,"

say the inhabitants of Zion.

"May our blood be on those who live in Babylonia,"

says Jerusalem.

36 Therefore, this is what the LORD says:

"See, I will defend your cause

and avenge you;

I will dry up her sea

and make her springs dry.

37 Babylon will be a heap of ruins,

a haunt of jackals,

an object of horror and scorn,

a place where no one lives.

38 Her people all roar like young lions,

they growl like lion cubs.

39 But while they are aroused,

I will set out a feast for them

and make them drunk,

so that they shout with laughter—

then sleep forever and not awake,"

declares the LORD.

40 "I will bring them down

like lambs to the slaughter,

like rams and goats.

41 "How Sheshach [g] will be captured,

the boast of the whole earth seized!

What a horror Babylon will be

among the nations!

42 The sea will rise over Babylon;

its roaring waves will cover her.

43 Her towns will be desolate,

a dry and desert land,

a land where no one lives,

through which no man travels.

44 I will punish Bel in Babylon

and make him spew out what he has swallowed.

The nations will no longer stream to him.

And the wall of Babylon will fall.

45 "Come out of her, my people!

Run for your lives!

Run from the fierce anger of the LORD.

46 Do not lose heart or be afraid

when rumors are heard in the land;

one rumor comes this year, another the next,

rumors of violence in the land

and of ruler against ruler.

47 For the time will surely come

when I will punish the idols of Babylon;

her whole land will be disgraced

and her slain will all lie fallen within her.

48 Then heaven and earth and all that is in them

will shout for joy over Babylon,

for out of the north

destroyers will attack her,"

declares the LORD.

49 "Babylon must fall because of Israel's slain,

just as the slain in all the earth

have fallen because of Babylon.

50 You who have escaped the sword,

leave and do not linger!

Remember the LORD in a distant land,

and think on Jerusalem."

51 "We are disgraced,

for we have been insulted

and shame covers our faces,

because foreigners have entered

the holy places of the LORD's house."

52 "But days are coming," declares the LORD,

"when I will punish her idols,

and throughout her land

the wounded will groan.

53 Even if Babylon reaches the sky

and fortifies her lofty stronghold,

I will send destroyers against her,"

declares the LORD.

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 51:1 Leb Kamai is a cryptogram for Chaldea, that is, Babylonia.
   
2. Jeremiah 51:3 The Hebrew term refers to the irrevocable giving over of things or persons to the LORD, often by totally destroying them.
   
3. Jeremiah 51:4 Or Chaldea
   
4. Jeremiah 51:5 Or / and the land of the Babylonians
   
5. Jeremiah 51:24 Or Chaldea ; also in verse 35
   
6. Jeremiah 51:35 Or done to us and to our children
   
7. Jeremiah 51:41 Sheshach is a cryptogram for Babylon.

Titus 2:1-15



Titus 2

What Must Be Taught to Various Groups

1You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.

3Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

6Similarly, encourage the young men to be self-controlled. 7In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness 8and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

9Teach slaves to be subject to their masters in everything, to try to please them, not to talk back to them, 10and not to steal from them, but to show that they can be fully trusted, so that in every way they will make the teaching about God our Savior attractive.

11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

15These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.

Psalm 99:1-9



Psalm 99

1 The LORD reigns,

let the nations tremble;

he sits enthroned between the cherubim,

let the earth shake.

2 Great is the LORD in Zion;

he is exalted over all the nations.

3 Let them praise your great and awesome name—

he is holy.

4 The King is mighty, he loves justice—

you have established equity;

in Jacob you have done

what is just and right.

5 Exalt the LORD our God

and worship at his footstool;

he is holy.

6 Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

Samuel was among those who called on his name;

they called on the LORD

and he answered them.

7 He spoke to them from the pillar of cloud;

they kept his statutes and the decrees he gave them.

8 O LORD our God,

you answered them;

you were to Israel [a] a forgiving God,

though you punished their misdeeds. [b]

9 Exalt the LORD our God

and worship at his holy mountain,

for the LORD our God is holy.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 99:8 Hebrew them
   
2. Psalm 99:8 Or / an avenger of the wrongs done to them

Proverbs 26:17



17 Like one who seizes a dog by the ears

is a passer-by who meddles in a quarrel not his own.