LAMENTATIONS 1

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The Sorrows of Zion1:1 How lonely sits the city

That was full of people!

She has become like a widow

Who was once great among the nations!

She who was a princess among the provinces

Has become a forced laborer!

2 She weeps bitterly in the night

And her tears are on her cheeks;

She has none to comfort her

Among all her lovers.

All her friends have dealt treacherously with her;

They have become her enemies.

3 Judah has gone into exile under affliction

And under harsh servitude;

She dwells among the nations,

But she has found no rest;

All her pursuers have overtaken her

In the midst of distress.

4 The roads of Zion are in mourning

Because no one comes to the appointed feasts.

All her gates are desolate;

Her priests are groaning,

Her virgins are afflicted,

And she herself is bitter.

5 Her adversaries have become her masters,

Her enemies prosper;

For the LORD has caused her grief

Because of the multitude of her transgressions;

Her little ones have gone away

As captives before the adversary.

6 All her majesty

Has departed from the daughter of Zion;

Her princes have become like deer

That have found no pasture;

And they have fled without strength

Before the pursuer.

7 In the days of her affliction and homelessness

Jerusalem remembers all her precious things

That were from the days of old,

When her people fell into the hand of the adversary

And no one helped her.

The adversaries saw her,

They mocked at her ruin.

8 Jerusalem sinned greatly,

Therefore she has become an unclean thing.

All who honored her despise her

Because they have seen her nakedness;

Even she herself groans and turns away.

9 Her uncleanness was in her skirts;

She did not consider her future.

Therefore she has fallen astonishingly;

She has no comforter.

“See, O LORD, my affliction,

For the enemy has magnified himself!”

10 The adversary has stretched out his hand

Over all her precious things,

For she has seen the nations enter her sanctuary,

The ones whom You commanded

That they should not enter into Your congregation.

11 All her people groan seeking bread;

They have given their precious things for food

To restore their lives themselves.

“See, O LORD, and look,

For I am despised.”

12 “Is it nothing to all you who pass this way?

Look and see if there is any pain like my pain

Which was severely dealt out to me,

Which the LORD inflicted on the day of His fierce anger.

13 “From on high He sent fire into my bones,

And it prevailed over them.

He has spread a net for my feet;

He has turned me back;

He has made me desolate,

Faint all day long.

14 “The yoke of my transgressions is bound;

By His hand they are knit together.

They have come upon my neck;

He has made my strength fail.

The Lord has given me into the hands

Of those against whom I am not able to stand.

15 “The Lord has rejected all my strong men

In my midst;

He has called an appointed time against me

To crush my young men;

The Lord has trodden as in a wine press

The virgin daughter of Judah.

16 “For these things I weep;

My eyes run down with water;

Because far from me is a comforter,

One who restores my soul.

My children are desolate

Because the enemy has prevailed.”

17 Zion stretches out her hands;

There is no one to comfort her;

The LORD has commanded concerning Jacob

That the ones round about him should be his adversaries;

Jerusalem has become an unclean thing among them.

18 “The LORD is righteous;

For I have rebelled against His command;

Hear now, all peoples,

And behold my pain;

My virgins and my young men

Have gone into captivity.

19 “I called to my lovers, but they deceived me;

My priests and my elders perished in the city

While they sought food to restore their strength themselves.

20 “See, O LORD, for I am in distress;

My spirit is greatly troubled;

My heart is overturned within me,

For I have been very rebellious.

In the street the sword slays;

In the house it is like death.

21 “They have heard that I groan;

There is no one to comfort me;

All my enemies have heard of my calamity;

They are glad that You have done it.

Oh, that You would bring the day which You have proclaimed,

That they may become like me.

22 “Let all their wickedness come before You;

And deal with them as You have dealt with me

For all my transgressions;

For my groans are many and my heart is faint.”

LAMENTATIONS 2

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God’s Anger over Israel2:1 How the Lord has covered the daughter of Zion

With a cloud in His anger!

He has cast from heaven to earth

The glory of Israel,

And has not remembered His footstool

In the day of His anger.

2 The Lord has swallowed up; He has not spared

All the habitations of Jacob.

In His wrath He has thrown down

The strongholds of the daughter of Judah;

He has brought them down to the ground;

He has profaned the kingdom and its princes.

3 In fierce anger He has cut off

All the strength of Israel;

He has drawn back His right hand

From before the enemy.

And He has burned in Jacob like a flaming fire

Consuming round about.

4 He has bent His bow like an enemy;

He has set His right hand like an adversary

And slain all that were pleasant to the eye;

In the tent of the daughter of Zion

He has poured out His wrath like fire.

5 The Lord has become like an enemy.

He has swallowed up Israel;

He has swallowed up all its palaces,

He has destroyed its strongholds

And multiplied in the daughter of Judah

Mourning and moaning.

6 And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth;

He has destroyed His appointed meeting place.

The LORD has caused to be forgotten

The appointed feast and sabbath in Zion,

And He has despised king and priest

In the indignation of His anger.

7 The Lord has rejected His altar,

He has abandoned His sanctuary;

He has delivered into the hand of the enemy

The walls of her palaces.

They have made a noise in the house of the LORD

As in the day of an appointed feast.

8 The LORD determined to destroy

The wall of the daughter of Zion.

He has stretched out a line,

He has not restrained His hand from destroying,

And He has caused rampart and wall to lament;

They have languished together.

9 Her gates have sunk into the ground,

He has destroyed and broken her bars.

Her king and her princes are among the nations;

The law is no more.

Also, her prophets find

No vision from the LORD.

10 The elders of the daughter of Zion

Sit on the ground, they are silent.

They have thrown dust on their heads;

They have girded themselves with sackcloth.

The virgins of Jerusalem

Have bowed their heads to the ground.

11 My eyes fail because of tears,

My spirit is greatly troubled;

My heart is poured out on the earth

Because of the destruction of the daughter of my people,

When little ones and infants faint

In the streets of the city.

12 They say to their mothers,

“Where is grain and wine?”

As they faint like a wounded man

In the streets of the city,

As their life is poured out

On their mothers’ bosom.

13 How shall I admonish you?

To what shall I compare you,

O daughter of Jerusalem?

To what shall I liken you as I comfort you,

O virgin daughter of Zion?

For your ruin is as vast as the sea;

Who can heal you?

14 Your prophets have seen for you

False and foolish visions;

And they have not exposed your iniquity

So as to restore you from captivity,

But they have seen for you false and misleading oracles.

15 All who pass along the way

Clap their hands in derision at you;

They hiss and shake their heads

At the daughter of Jerusalem,

“Is this the city of which they said,

‘The perfection of beauty,

A joy to all the earth’?”

16 All your enemies

Have opened their mouths wide against you;

They hiss and gnash their teeth.

They say, “We have swallowed her up!

Surely this is the day for which we waited;

We have reached it, we have seen it.”

17 The LORD has done what He purposed;

He has accomplished His word

Which He commanded from days of old.

He has thrown down without sparing,

And He has caused the enemy to rejoice over you;

He has exalted the might of your adversaries.

18 Their heart cried out to the Lord,

“O wall of the daughter of Zion,

Let your tears run down like a river day and night;

Give yourself no relief,

Let your eyes have no rest.

19 “Arise, cry aloud in the night

At the beginning of the night watches;

Pour out your heart like water

Before the presence of the Lord;

Lift up your hands to Him

For the life of your little ones

Who are faint because of hunger

At the head of every street.”

20 See, O LORD, and look!

With whom have You dealt thus?

Should women eat their offspring,

The little ones who were born healthy?

Should priest and prophet be slain

In the sanctuary of the Lord?

21 On the ground in the streets

Lie young and old;

My virgins and my young men

Have fallen by the sword.

You have slain them in the day of Your anger,

You have slaughtered, not sparing.

22 You called as in the day of an appointed feast

My terrors on every side;

And there was no one who escaped or survived

In the day of the LORD’S anger.

Those whom I bore and reared,

My enemy annihilated them.

PROVERBS 28

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Warnings and Instructions28:1 The wicked flee when no one is pursuing,

But the righteous are bold as a lion.

2 By the transgression of a land many are its princes,

But by a man of understanding and knowledge, so it endures.

3 A poor man who oppresses the lowly

Is like a driving rain which leaves no food.

4 Those who forsake the law praise the wicked,

But those who keep the law strive with them.

5 Evil men do not understand justice,

But those who seek the LORD understand all things.

6 Better is the poor who walks in his integrity

Than he who is crooked though he be rich.

7 He who keeps the law is a discerning son,

But he who is a companion of gluttons humiliates his father.

8 He who increases his wealth by interest and usury

Gathers it for him who is gracious to the poor.

9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law,

Even his prayer is an abomination.

10 He who leads the upright astray in an evil way

Will himself fall into his own pit,

But the blameless will inherit good.

11 The rich man is wise in his own eyes,

But the poor who has understanding sees through him.

12 When the righteous triumph, there is great glory,

But when the wicked rise, men hide themselves.

13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,

But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.

14 How blessed is the man who fears always,

But he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

15 Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear

Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.

16 A leader who is a great oppressor lacks understanding,

But he who hates unjust gain will prolong his days.

17 A man who is laden with the guilt of human blood

Will be a fugitive until death; let no one support him.

18 He who walks blamelessly will be delivered,

But he who is crooked will fall all at once.

19 He who tills his land will have plenty of food,

But he who follows empty pursuits will have poverty in plenty.

20 A faithful man will abound with blessings,

But he who makes haste to be rich will not go unpunished.

21 To show partiality is not good,

Because for a piece of bread a man will transgress.

22 A man with an evil eye hastens after wealth

And does not know that want will come upon him.

23 He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor

Than he who flatters with the tongue.

24 He who robs his father or his mother

And says, “It is not a transgression,”

Is the companion of a man who destroys.

25 An arrogant man stirs up strife,

But he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.

26 He who trusts in his own heart is a fool,

But he who walks wisely will be delivered.

27 He who gives to the poor will never want,

But he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.

28 When the wicked rise, men hide themselves;

But when they perish, the righteous increase.

JOHN 1

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The Deity of Jesus Christ  1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. 5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
The Witness John    6 There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light.
    9 There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
The Word Made Flesh    14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 John testified about Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’” 16 For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. 17 For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.
The Testimony of John    19 This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent to him priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 And he confessed and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 They asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” And he said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 Then they said to him, “Who are you, so that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am A VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, ‘MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD,’ as Isaiah the prophet said.”
    24 Now they had been sent from the Pharisees. 25 They asked him, and said to him, “Why then are you baptizing, if you are not the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them saying, “I baptize in water, but among you stands One whom you do not know. 27 It is He who comes after me, the thong of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing.
    29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ 31 I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” 32 John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. 33 I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ 34 I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.”
Jesus’ Public Ministry, First Converts    35 Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 And Jesus turned and saw them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” They said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” So they came and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He found first his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).
    43 The next day He purposed to go into Galilee, and He found Philip. And Jesus said to him, “Follow Me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, of the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the Law and also the Prophets wrote--Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to Him, and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered Him, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God; You are the King of Israel.” 50 Jesus answered and said to him, “Because I said to you that I saw you under the fig tree, do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And He said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see the heavens opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”