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Daily Readings for May 12
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Deuteronomy 29
1.These are the words of the covenant which Yahweh commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Horeb. 2.Moses called to all Israel, and said to them, You have seen all that Yahweh did before your eyes in the land of Egypt to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land; 3.the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs, and those great wonders: 4.but Yahweh has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, to this day. 5.I have led you forty years in the wilderness: your clothes have not grown old on you, and your shoes have not grown old on your feet. 6.You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink; that you may know that I am Yahweh your God. 7.When you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we struck them: 8.and we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of the Manassites. 9.Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that you may prosper in all that you do. 10.You stand this day all of you before Yahweh your God; your heads, your tribes, your elders, and your officers, even all the men of Israel, 11.your little ones, your wives, and your foreigner who is in the midst of your camps, from the one who cuts your wood to the one who draws your water; 12.that you may enter into the covenant of Yahweh your God, and into his oath, which Yahweh your God makes with you this day; 13.that he may establish you this day to himself for a people, and that he may be to you a God, as he spoke to you, and as he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. 14.Neither with you only do I make this covenant and this oath, 15.but with him who stands here with us this day before Yahweh our God, and also with him who is not here with us this day 16.(for you know how we lived in the land of Egypt, and how we came through the midst of the nations through which you passed; 17.and you have seen their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which were among them); 18.lest there should be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart turns away this day from Yahweh our God, to go to serve the gods of those nations; lest there should be among you a root that bears gall and wormwood; 19.and it happen, when he hears the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, "I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, to destroy the moist with the dry." 20.Yahweh will not pardon him, but then the anger of Yahweh and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie on him, and Yahweh will blot out his name from under the sky. 21.Yahweh will set him apart to evil out of all the tribes of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that is written in this book of the law.
22.The generation to come, your children who shall rise up after you, and the foreigner who shall come from a far land, shall say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses with which Yahweh has made it sick; 23.and that the whole land of it is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor bears, nor any grass grows therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath: 24.even all the nations shall say, "Why has Yahweh done thus to this land? What does the heat of this great anger mean?"
25.Then men shall say, "Because they forsook the covenant of Yahweh, the God of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, 26.and went and served other gods, and worshiped them, gods that they didn't know, and that he had not given to them: 27.therefore the anger of Yahweh was kindled against this land, to bring on it all the curse that is written in this book; 28.and Yahweh rooted them out of their land in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation, and cast them into another land, as at this day."
29.The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Isaiah 1
1.The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2.Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh1 has spoken: "I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me. 3.The ox knows his owner, and the donkey his master's crib; but Israel doesn't know, my people don't consider." 4.Ah sinful nation, a people loaded with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken Yahweh. They have despised the Holy One of Israel. They are estranged and backward. 5.Why should you be beaten more, that you revolt more and more? The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6.From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it: wounds, welts, and open sores. They haven't been closed, neither bandaged, neither soothed with oil. 7.Your country is desolate. Your cities are burned with fire. Strangers devour your land in your presence, and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers. 8.The daughter of Zion is left like a shelter in a vineyard, like a hut in a field of melons, like a besieged city. 9.Unless Yahweh of Armies had left to us a very small remnant, we would have been as Sodom; we would have been like Gomorrah. 10.Hear the word of Yahweh, you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the law of our God2, you people of Gomorrah! 11."What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?," says Yahweh. "I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed animals. I don't delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs, or of male goats. 12.When you come to appear before me, who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts? 13.Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; new moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can't bear with evil assemblies. 14.My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. 15.When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you. Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood. 16.Wash yourselves, make yourself clean. Put away the evil of your doings from before my eyes. Cease to do evil. 17.Learn to do well. Seek justice. Relieve the oppressed. Judge the fatherless. Plead for the widow."
18."Come now, and let us reason together," says Yahweh: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19.If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20.but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken it."
21.How the faithful city has become a prostitute! She was full of justice; righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers. 22.Your silver has become dross, your wine mixed with water. 23.Your princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves. Everyone loves bribes, and follows after rewards. They don't judge the fatherless, neither does the cause of the widow come to them. 24.Therefore the Lord,3 Yahweh of Armies, the Mighty One of Israel, says: "Ah, I will get relief from my adversaries, and avenge myself of my enemies; 25.and I will turn my hand on you, thoroughly purge away your dross, and will take away all your tin. 26.I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called 'The city of righteousness, a faithful town.' 27.Zion shall be redeemed with justice, and her converts with righteousness. 28.But the destruction of transgressors and sinners shall be together, and those who forsake Yahweh shall be consumed. 29.For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which you have desired, and you shall be confounded for the gardens that you have chosen. 30.For you shall be as an oak whose leaf fades, and as a garden that has no water. 31.The strong will be like tinder, and his work like a spark. They will both burn together, and no one will quench them."
Acts 27
1.When it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Augustan band. 2.Embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea; Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with us. 3.The next day, we touched at Sidon. Julius treated Paul kindly, and gave him permission to go to his friends and refresh himself. 4.Putting to sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. 5.When we had sailed across the sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. 6.There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy, and he put us on board. 7.When we had sailed slowly many days, and had come with difficulty opposite Cnidus, the wind not allowing us further, we sailed under the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. 8.With difficulty sailing along it we came to a certain place called Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea.
9.When much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous, because the Fast had now already gone by, Paul admonished them, 10.and said to them, "Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives." 11.But the centurion gave more heed to the master and to the owner of the ship than to those things which were spoken by Paul. 12.Because the haven was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised going to sea from there, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, and winter there, which is a port of Crete, looking northeast and southeast.
13.When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to shore. 14.But before long, a stormy wind beat down from shore, which is called Euroclydon.78 15.When the ship was caught, and couldn't face the wind, we gave way to it, and were driven along. 16.Running under the lee of a small island called Clauda, we were able, with difficulty, to secure the boat. 17.After they had hoisted it up, they used cables to help reinforce the ship. Fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis sand bars, they lowered the sea anchor, and so were driven along. 18.As we labored exceedingly with the storm, the next day they began to throw things overboard. 19.On the third day, they threw out the ship's tackle with their own hands. 20.When neither sun nor stars shone on us for many days, and no small storm pressed on us, all hope that we would be saved was now taken away.
21.When they had been long without food, Paul stood up in the middle of them, and said, "Sirs, you should have listened to me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have gotten this injury and loss. 22.Now I exhort you to cheer up, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23.For there stood by me this night an angel, belonging to the God whose I am and whom I serve, 24.saying, 'Don't be afraid, Paul. You must stand before Caesar. Behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.' 25.Therefore, sirs, cheer up! For I believe God, that it will be just as it has been spoken to me. 26.But we must run aground on a certain island."
27.But when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven back and forth in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors surmised that they were drawing near to some land. 28.They took soundings, and found twenty fathoms.79 After a little while, they took soundings again, and found fifteen fathoms.80 29.Fearing that we would run aground on rocky ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and wished for daylight. 30.As the sailors were trying to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat into the sea, pretending that they would lay out anchors from the bow, 31.Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers, "Unless these stay in the ship, you can't be saved." 32.Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the boat, and let it fall off.
33.While the day was coming on, Paul begged them all to take some food, saying, "This day is the fourteenth day that you wait and continue fasting, having taken nothing. 34.Therefore I beg you to take some food, for this is for your safety; for not a hair will perish from any of your heads." 35.When he had said this, and had taken bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all, and he broke it, and began to eat. 36.Then they all cheered up, and they also took food. 37.In all, we were two hundred seventy-six souls on the ship. 38.When they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. 39.When it was day, they didn't recognize the land, but they noticed a certain bay with a beach, and they decided to try to drive the ship onto it. 40.Casting off the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time untying the rudder ropes. Hoisting up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach. 41.But coming to a place where two seas met, they ran the vessel aground. The bow struck and remained immovable, but the stern began to break up by the violence of the waves.
42.The soldiers' counsel was to kill the prisoners, so that none of them would swim out and escape. 43.But the centurion, desiring to save Paul, stopped them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should throw themselves overboard first to go toward the land; 44.and the rest should follow, some on planks, and some on other things from the ship. So it happened that they all escaped safely to the land.