Daily Readings for July 26
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2Samuel 12

 

1.Yahweh sent Nathan to David. He came to him, and said to him, "There were two men in one city; the one rich, and the other poor. 2.The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3.but the poor man had nothing, except one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and raised. It grew up together with him, and with his children. It ate of his own food, drank of his own cup, and lay in his bosom, and was to him like a daughter. 4.A traveler came to the rich man, and he spared to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the wayfaring man who had come to him, but took the poor man's lamb, and dressed it for the man who had come to him."

5.David's anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, "As Yahweh lives, the man who has done this is worthy to die! 6.He shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity!"

7.Nathan said to David, "You are the man. This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says: 'I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul. 8.I gave you your master's house, and your master's wives into your bosom, and gave you the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that would have been too little, I would have added to you many more such things. 9.Why have you despised the word of Yahweh, to do that which is evil in his sight? You have struck Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and have taken his wife to be your wife, and have slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon. 10.Now therefore the sword will never depart from your house, because you have despised me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.'

11."This is what Yahweh says: 'Behold, I will raise up evil against you out of your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes, and give them to your neighbor, and he will lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12.For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.'"

13.David said to Nathan, "I have sinned against Yahweh."

Nathan said to David, "Yahweh also has put away your sin. You will not die. 14.However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to Yahweh's enemies to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die." 15.Nathan departed to his house.

Yahweh struck the child that Uriah's wife bore to David, and it was very sick. 16.David therefore begged God for the child; and David fasted, and went in, and lay all night on the earth. 17.The elders of his house arose beside him, to raise him up from the earth: but he would not, neither did he eat bread with them. 18.It happened on the seventh day, that the child died. The servants of David feared to tell him that the child was dead; for they said, "Behold, while the child was yet alive, we spoke to him, and he didn't listen to our voice. How will he then harm himself, if we tell him that the child is dead?"

19.But when David saw that his servants were whispering together, David perceived that the child was dead; and David said to his servants, "Is the child dead?"

They said, "He is dead."

20.Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed himself, and changed his clothing; and he came into the house of Yahweh, and worshiped: then he came to his own house; and when he required, they set bread before him, and he ate. 21.Then his servants said to him, "What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive; but when the child was dead, you rose up and ate bread."

22.He said, "While the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who knows whether Yahweh will not be gracious to me, that the child may live?' 23.But now he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he will not return to me."

24.David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her, and lay with her. She bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Yahweh loved him; 25.and he sent by the hand of Nathan the prophet; and he named him Jedidiah, for Yahweh's sake. 26.Now Joab fought against Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and took the royal city. 27.Joab sent messengers to David, and said, "I have fought against Rabbah. Yes, I have taken the city of waters. 28.Now therefore gather the rest of the people together, and encamp against the city, and take it; lest I take the city, and it be called after my name."

29.David gathered all the people together, and went to Rabbah, and fought against it, and took it. 30.He took the crown of their king from off his head; and its weight was a talent of gold, and in it were precious stones; and it was set on David's head. He brought out the spoil of the city, exceeding much. 31.He brought out the people who were therein, and put them under saws, and under iron picks, and under axes of iron, and made them pass through the brick kiln: and he did so to all the cities of the children of Ammon. David and all the people returned to Jerusalem.

 

Jeremiah 16

 

1.The word of Yahweh came also to me, saying, 2.You shall not take a wife, neither shall you have sons or daughters, in this place. 3.For thus says Yahweh concerning the sons and concerning the daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them, and concerning their fathers who became their father in this land: 4.They shall die grievous deaths: they shall not be lamented, neither shall they be buried; they shall be as dung on the surface of the ground; and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their dead bodies shall be food for the birds of the sky, and for the animals of the earth. 5.For thus says Yahweh, Don't enter into the house of mourning, neither go to lament, neither bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says Yahweh, even loving kindness and tender mercies. 6.Both great and small shall die in this land; they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them; 7.neither shall men break bread for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. 8.You shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and to drink. 9.For thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place, before your eyes and in your days, the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride. 10.It shall happen, when you shall show this people all these words, and they shall tell you, Why has Yahweh pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against Yahweh our God? 11.Then you shall tell them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, says Yahweh, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshiped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; 12.and you have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, you walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that you don't listen to me: 13.therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that you have not known, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor. 14.Therefore, behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that it shall no more be said, As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15.but, As Yahweh lives, who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries where he had driven them. I will bring them again into their land that I gave to their fathers. 16.Behold, I will send for many fishermen, says Yahweh, and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. 17.For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from my eyes. 18.First I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled my inheritance with their abominations. 19.Yahweh, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, vanity and things in which there is no profit. 20.Shall a man make to himself gods, which yet are no gods? 21.Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Yahweh.

 

Matthew 27

 

1.Now when morning had come, all the chief priests and the elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put him to death: 2.and they bound him, and led him away, and delivered him up to Pontius Pilate, the governor. 3.Then Judas, who betrayed him, when he saw that Jesus was condemned, felt remorse, and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4.saying, "I have sinned in that I betrayed innocent blood."

But they said, "What is that to us? You see to it."

5.He threw down the pieces of silver in the sanctuary, and departed. He went away and hanged himself. 6.The chief priests took the pieces of silver, and said, "It's not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is the price of blood." 7.They took counsel, and bought the potter's field with them, to bury strangers in. 8.Therefore that field was called "The Field of Blood" to this day. 9.Then that which was spoken through Jeremiah¹²⁵ the prophet was fulfilled, saying, "They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him upon whom a price had been set, whom some of the children of Israel priced, 10.and they gave them for the potter's field, as the Lord commanded me."[126]

11.Now Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, "Are you the King of the Jews?"

Jesus said to him, "So you say."

12.When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. 13.Then Pilate said to him, "Don't you hear how many things they testify against you?"

14.He gave him no answer, not even one word, so that the governor marveled greatly. 15.Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release to the multitude one prisoner, whom they desired. 16.They had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. 17.When therefore they were gathered together, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?" 18.For he knew that because of envy they had delivered him up.

19.While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." 20.Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the multitudes to ask for Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. 21.But the governor answered them, "Which of the two do you want me to release to you?"

They said, "Barabbas!"

22.Pilate said to them, "What then shall I do to Jesus, who is called Christ?"

They all said to him, "Let him be crucified!"

23.But the governor said, "Why? What evil has he done?"

But they cried out exceedingly, saying, "Let him be crucified!"

24.So when Pilate saw that nothing was being gained, but rather that a disturbance was starting, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this righteous person. You see to it."

25.All the people answered, "May his blood be on us, and on our children!"

26.Then he released to them Barabbas, but Jesus he flogged and delivered to be crucified. 27.Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him. 28.They stripped him, and put a scarlet robe on him. 29.They braided a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and a reed in his right hand; and they kneeled down before him, and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 30.They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31.When they had mocked him, they took the robe off of him, and put his clothes on him, and led him away to crucify him.

32.As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his cross. 33.They came to a place called "Golgotha," that is to say, "The place of a skull." 34.They gave him sour wine to drink mixed with gall. When he had tasted it, he would not drink. 35.When they had crucified him, they divided his clothing among them, casting lots,[127] 36.and they sat and watched him there. 37.They set up over his head the accusation against him written, "THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS."

38.Then there were two robbers crucified with him, one on his right hand and one on the left. 39.Those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads, 40.and saying, "You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"

41.Likewise the chief priests also mocking, with the scribes, the Pharisees,¹²⁸ and the elders, said, 42."He saved others, but he can't save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. 43.He trusts in God. Let God deliver him now, if he wants him; for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" 44.The robbers also who were crucified with him cast on him the same reproach.

45.Now from the sixth hour¹²⁹ there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.¹³⁰ 46.About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, "Eli, Eli, lima¹³¹ sabachthani?" That is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"[132]

47.Some of them who stood there, when they heard it, said, "This man is calling Elijah."

48.Immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him a drink. 49.The rest said, "Let him be. Let's see whether Elijah comes to save him."

50.Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. 51.Behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. 52.The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53.and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection, they entered into the holy city and appeared to many. 54.Now the centurion, and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earthquake, and the things that were done, feared exceedingly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God."

55.Many women were there watching from afar, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, serving him. 56.Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee. 57.When evening had come, a rich man from Arimathaea, named Joseph, who himself was also Jesus' disciple came. 58.This man went to Pilate, and asked for Jesus' body. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given up. 59.Joseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60.and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut out in the rock, and he rolled a great stone to the door of the tomb, and departed. 61.Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. 62.Now on the next day, which was the day after the Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to Pilate, 63.saying, "Sir, we remember what that deceiver said while he was still alive: 'After three days I will rise again.' 64.Command therefore that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest perhaps his disciples come at night and steal him away, and tell the people, 'He is risen from the dead;' and the last deception will be worse than the first."

65.Pilate said to them, "You have a guard. Go, make it as secure as you can." 66.So they went with the guard and made the tomb secure, sealing the stone.

 

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