Day 328 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Jeremiah 13

1 Thus saith the Lord, Go and procure for thyself a linen girdle, and put it about thy loins, and let it not be put in water. 2 So I procured the girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it about my loins. 3 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 4 Take the girdle that is upon thy loins, and arise, and go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. 5 So I went, and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me. 6 And it came to pass after many days, that the Lord said to me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take thence the girdle, which I commanded thee to hide there. 7 So I went to the river Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle out of the place where I [had] buried it: and, behold, it was rotten, utterly good for nothing. 8 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thus saith the Lord, 9 Thus will I mar the pride of Juda, and the pride of Jerusalem; 10 [even] this great pride [of the men] that will not hearken to my words, and have gone after strange gods, to serve them, and to worship them: and they shall be as this girdle, which can be used for nothing. 11 For as a girdle cleaves about the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave to myself the house of Israel, and the whole house of Juda; that they might be to me a famous people, and a praise, and a glory: but they did not hearken to me. 12 And thou shalt say to this people, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and it shall come to pass, if they shall say to thee, Shall we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? that thou shalt say to them, 13 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I [will] fill the inhabitants of this land, and their kings the sons of David that sit upon their throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and Juda and all the dwellers in Jerusalem, with strong drink. 14 And I will scatter them a man and his brother, and their fathers and their sons together: I will not have compassion, saith the Lord, and I will not spare, neither will I pity [to save them] from destruction. 15 Hear ye, and give ear, and be not proud: for the Lord has spoken. 16 Give glory to the Lord your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and ye shall wait for light, and behold the shadow of death, and they shall be brought into darkness. 17 But if ye will not hearken, your soul shall weep in secret because of pride, and your eyes shall pour down tears, because the Lord's flock is sorely bruised. 18 Say ye to the king and the princes, Humble yourselves, and sit down; for your crown of glory is removed from your head. 19 The cities toward the south were shut, and there was none to open [them]: Juda is removed [into captivity], they have suffered a complete removal. 20 Lift up thine eyes, O Jerusalem, and behold them that come from the north; where is the flock that was given thee, the sheep of thy glory? 21 What wilt thou say when they shall visit thee, for thou didst teach them lessons for rule against thyself; shall not pangs seize thee as a woman in travail? 22 And if thou shouldest say in thine heart, Wherefore have these things happened to me? Because of the abundance of thine iniquity have thy skirts been discovered, that thine heels might be exposed. 23 If the Ethiopian shall change his skin, or the leopardess her spots, then shall ye be able to do good, having learnt evil. 24 So I scattered them as sticks carried by the wind into the wilderness. 25 Thus is thy lot, and the reward of your disobedience to me, saith the Lord; as thou didst forget me, and trust in lies, 26 I also will expose thy skirts upon thy face, and thy shame shall be seen; 27 thine adultery also, and thy neighing, and the looseness of thy fornication: on the hills and in the fields I have seen thine abominations. Woe to thee, O Jerusalem, for thou hast not been purified so as to follow me; how long yet [shall it be]?

Jeremiah 14

1 And the Word of the Lord came to Jeremias concerning the Drought. 2 Judea has mourned, and her gates are emptied, and are darkened upon the earth; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 3 And her nobles have sent their little ones to the water: they came to the wells, and found no water: and brought back their vessels empty. 4 And the labours of the land failed, because there was no rain: the husbandmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5 And hinds calved in the field, and forsook [it], because there was no grass. 6 The wild asses stood by the forests, and snuffed up the wind; their eyes failed, because there was no grass. 7 Our sins have risen up against us: O Lord, do thou for us for thine own sake; for our sins are many before thee; for we have sinned against thee. 8 O Lord, [thou art] the hope of Israel, and deliverest [us] in time of troubles; why art thou become as a sojourner upon the land, or as one born in the land, yet turning aside for a resting-place? 9 Wilt thou be as a man asleep, or as a [strong] man that cannot save? yet thou art among us, O Lord, and thy name is called upon us; forget us not. 10 Thus saith the Lord to this people, They have loved to wander, and they have not spared, therefore God has not prospered them; now will he remember their iniquity. 11 And the Lord said to me, Pray not for this people for [their] good: 12 for though they fast, I will not hear their supplication; and though they offer whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, I will take no pleasure in them: for I will consume them with sword, and with famine, and with pestilence. 13 And I said, O [ever] living Lord! behold, their prophets prophesy, and say, Ye shall not see a sword, nor shall famine be among you; for I will give truth and peace on the land, and in this place. 14 Then the Lord said to me, The prophets prophesy lies in my name: I sent them not, and I commanded them not, and I spoke not to them: for they prophesy to you false visions, and divinations, and auguries, and devices of their own heart. 15 Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning the prophets that prophesy lies in my name, and I sent them not, who say, Sword and famine shall not be upon this land; they shall die by a grievous death, and the prophets shall be consumed by famine. 16 And the people to whom they prophesy, they also shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem, because of the sword and famine; and there shall be none to bury them: their wives also, and their sons, and their daughters [shall die thus]; and I will pour out their wickedness upon them. 17 And thou shalt speak this word to them; Let your eyes shed tears day and night, and let them not cease: for the daughter of my people has been sorely bruised, and her plague is very grievous. 18 If I go forth into the plain, then behold the slain by the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold the distress of famine! for priest and prophet have gone to a land which they knew not. 19 Hast thou utterly rejected Juda? and has thy soul departed from Sion? wherefore hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we waited for peace, but there was no prosperity; for a time of healing, and behold trouble! 20 We know, O Lord, our sins, [and] the iniquities of our fathers: for we have sinned before thee. 21 Refrain for thy name's sake, destroy not the throne of thy glory: remember, break not thy covenant with us. 22 Is there any one among the idols of the Gentiles that can give rain? and will the sky yield his fulness [at their bidding]? Art not thou he? we will even wait on thee, O Lord: for thou hast made all these things.

Jeremiah 15

1 And the Lord said to me, Though Moses and Samuel stood before my face, my soul could not be toward them: dismiss this people, and let them go forth. 2 And it shall be, if they say to thee, Whither shall we go forth? then thou shalt say to them, Thus saith the Lord; As many as are for death, to death; and as many as are for famine, to famine; and as many as are for the sword, to the sword; and as many as are for captivity, to captivity. 3 And I will punish them with four kinds [of death], saith the Lord, the sword to slay, and the dogs to tear, and the wild beasts of the earth, and the birds of the sky to devour and destroy. 4 And I will deliver them up for distress to all the kingdoms of the earth, because of Manasses son of Ezekias king of Juda, for all that he did in Jerusalem. 5 Who will spare thee, O Jerusalem? and who will fear for thee? or who will turn back [to ask] for thy welfare? 6 Thou hast turned away from me, saith the Lord, thou wilt go back: therefore I will stretch out my hand, and will destroy thee, and will no more spare them. 7 And I will completely scatter them; in the gates of my people they are bereaved of children: they have destroyed my people because of their iniquities. 8 Their widows have been multiplied more than the sand of the sea: I have brought young men against the mother, [even] distress at noon-day: I have suddenly cast upon her trembling and anxiety. 9 She that bore seven is spent; her soul has fainted under trouble; her sun is gone down while it is yet noon; she is ashamed and disgraced: I will give the remnant of them to the sword before their enemies. 10 Woe is me, [my] mother! thou hast born me as some man of strife, and at variance with the whole earth; I have not helped [others], nor has any one helped me; my strength has failed among them that curse me. 11 Be it so, Lord, in their prosperity; surely I stood before thee in the time of their calamities, and in the time of their affliction, for [their] good against the enemy. 12 Will iron be known? whereas thy strength is a brazen covering. 13 Yea, I will give thy treasures for a spoil as a recompence, because of all thy sins, and [that] in all thy borders. 14 And I will enslave thee to thine enemies round about, in a land which thou hast not known; for a fire has been kindled out of my wrath; it shall burn upon you. 15 O Lord, remember me, and visit me, and vindicate me before them that persecute me; do not bear long with them; know how I have met with reproach for thy sake, from those who set at nought thy words; 16 consume them; and thy word shall be to me for the joy and gladness of my heart: for thy name has been called upon me, O Lord Almighty. 17 I have not sat in the assembly of them as they mocked, but I feared because of thy power: I sat alone, for I was filled with bitterness. 18 Why do they that grieve me prevail against me? my wound is severe; whence shall I be healed? it is indeed become to me as deceitful water, that has no faithfulness. 19 Therefore thus saith the Lord, If thou wilt return, then will I restore thee, and thou shalt stand before my face: and if thou wilt bring forth the precious from the worthless, thou shalt be as my mouth: and they shall return to thee; but thou shalt not return to them. 20 And I will make thee to this people as a strong brazen wall; and they shall fight against thee, but they shall by no means prevail against thee; 21 for I am with thee to save thee, and to deliver thee out of the hand of wicked [men]; and I will ransom thee out of the hand of pestilent [men].

Hebrews 9

1 Now indeed even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and an earthly sanctuary. 2 For a tabernacle was prepared. In the first part were the lamp stand, the table, and the show bread, which is called the Holy Place. 3 After the second veil was the tabernacle which is called the Holy of Holies, 4 having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which was a golden pot holding the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant; 5 and above it cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat, of which things we can’t speak now in detail. 6 Now these things having been thus prepared, the priests go in continually into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the services, 7 but into the second the high priest alone, once in the year, not without blood, which he offers for himself and for the errors of the people. 8 The Holy Spirit is indicating this, that the way into the Holy Place wasn’t yet revealed while the first tabernacle was still standing. 9 This is a symbol of the present age, where gifts and sacrifices are offered that are incapable, concerning the conscience, of making the worshiper perfect, 10 being only (with foods and drinks and various washings) fleshly ordinances, imposed until a time of reformation. 11 But Christ having come as a high priest of the coming good things, through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation, 12 nor yet through the blood of goats and calves, but through his own blood, entered in once for all into the Holy Place, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 15 For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. 16 For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it. 17 For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is never in force while he who made it lives. 18 Therefore even the first covenant has not been dedicated without blood. 19 For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.” 21 He sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry in the same way with the blood. 22 According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission. 23 It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. 24 For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; 25 nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own, 26 or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment, 28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.