Day 62 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

Deuteronomy 29

1 These [are] the words of the covenant, which the Lord commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, besides the covenant which he made with them in Choreb. 2 And Moses called all the sons of Israel and said to them, Ye have seen all things that the Lord did in the land of Egypt before you to Pharao and his servants, and all his land; 3 the great temptations which thine eyes have seen, the signs, and those great wonders. 4 Yet the Lord God has not given you a heart to know, and eyes to see, and ears to hear, until this day. 5 And he led you forty years in the wilderness; your garments did not grow old, and your sandals were not worn away off your feet. 6 Ye did not eat bread, ye did not drink wine or strong drink, that ye might know that I [am] the Lord your God. 7 And ye came as far as this place; and there came forth Seon king of Esebon, and Og king of Basan, to meet us in war. 8 And we smote them and took their land, and I gave it for an inheritance to Ruben and Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasse. 9 And ye shall take heed to do all the words of this covenant, that ye may understand all things that ye shall do. 10 Ye all stand to-day before the Lord your God, the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and your judges, and your officers, every man of Israel, 11 your wives, and your children, and the stranger who is in the midst of your camp, from your hewer of wood even to your drawer of water, 12 that thou shouldest enter into the covenant of the Lord thy God and into his oaths, as many as the Lord thy God appoints thee this day; 13 that he may appoint thee to himself for a people, and he shall be thy God, as he said to thee, and as he sware to thy fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob. 14 And I do not appoint to you alone this covenant and this oath; 15 but to those also who are here with you to-day before the Lord your God, and to those who are not here with you to-day. 16 For ye know how we dwelt in the land of Egypt, how we came through the midst of the nations through whom ye came. 17 And ye beheld their abominations, and their idols, wood and stone, silver and gold, which are among them. 18 Lest there be among you man, or woman, or family, or tribe, whose heart has turned aside from the Lord your God, having gone to serve the gods of these nations; lest there be in you a root springing up with gall and bitterness. 19 And it shall be if one shall hear the words of this curse, and shall flatter himself in his heart, saying, Let good happen to me, for I will walk in the error of my heart, lest the sinner destroy the guiltless with [him]: 20 God shall by no means be willing to pardon him, but then the wrath of the Lord and his jealousy shall flame out against that man; and all the curses of this covenant shall attach themselves to him, which are written in this book, and the Lord shall blot out his name from under heaven. 21 And the Lord shall separate that man for evil of all the children of Israel, according to all the curses of the covenant that are written in the book of this law. 22 And another generation shall say—even your sons who shall rise up after you, and the stranger who shall come from a land afar off, and shall see the plagues of that land and their diseases, which the Lord has sent upon it, 23 brimstone and burning salt, (the whole land shall not be sown, neither shall any green thing spring, nor rise upon it, as Sodom and Gomorrha were overthrown, Adama and Seboim, which the Lord overthrew in his wrath and anger:)— 24 and all the nations shall say, Why has the Lord done thus to this land? what [is] this great fierceness of anger? 25 And [men] shall say, Because they forsook the covenant of the Lord God of their fathers, the things which he appointed to their fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt: 26 and they went and served other gods, which they knew not, neither did he assign [them] to them. 27 And the Lord was exceedingly angry with that land to bring upon it according to all the curses which are written in the book of this law. 28 And the Lord removed them from their land in anger, and wrath, and very great indignation, and cast them out into another land as at present. 29 The secret things [belong] to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed [belong] to us and to our children for ever, to do all the words of this law.

Deuteronomy 30

1 And it shall come to pass when all these things shall have come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thy face, and thou shalt call [them] to mind among all the nations, wherein the Lord shall have scattered thee, 2 and shalt return to the Lord thy God, and shalt hearken to his voice, according to all things which I charge thee this day, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul; 3 then the Lord shall heal thine iniquities, and shall pity thee, and shall again gather thee out from all the nations, among which the Lord has scattered thee. 4 If thy dispersion be from one end of heaven to the other, thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, and thence will the Lord thy God take thee. 5 And the Lord thy God shall bring thee in from thence into the land which thy fathers have inherited, and thou shalt inherit it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers. 6 And the Lord shall purge thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live. 7 And the Lord thy God will put these curses upon thine enemies, and upon those that hate thee, who have persecuted thee. 8 And thou shalt return and hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and shall keep his commands, all that I charge thee this day. 9 And the Lord thy God shall bless thee in every work of thine hands, in the offspring of thy body, and in the offspring of thy cattle, and in the fruits of thy land, because the Lord thy God will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers: 10 if thou wilt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments, and his ordinances, and his judgments written in the book of this law, if thou turn to the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul. 11 For this command which I give thee this day is not grievous, neither is it far from thee. 12 It is not in heaven above, [as if there were one] saying, Who shall go up for us into heaven, and shall take it for us, and we will hear and do it? 13 Neither is it beyond the sea, saying, Who will go over for us to the other side of the sea, and take it for us, and make it audible to us, and we will do it? 14 The word is very near thee, in thy mouth, and in thine heart, and in thine hands to do it. 15 Behold, I have set before thee this day life and death, good and evil. 16 If thou wilt hearken to the commands of the Lord thy God, which I command thee this day, to love the Lord thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his ordinances, and his judgments; then ye shall live, and shall be many in number, and the Lord thy God shall bless thee in all the land into which thou goest to inherit it. 17 But if thy heart change, and thou wilt not hearken, and thou shalt go astray and worship other gods, and serve them, 18 I declare to you this day, that ye shall utterly perish, and ye shall by no means live long upon the land, into which ye go over Jordan to inherit it. 19 I call both heaven and earth to witness this day against you, I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse: choose thou life, that thou and thy seed may live; 20 to love the Lord thy God, to hearken to his voice, and cleave to him; for this [is] thy life, and the length of thy days, that thou shouldest dwell upon the land, which the Lord sware to thy fathers, Abraam, and Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them.

Deuteronomy 31

1 And Moses finished speaking all these words to all the children of Israel; 2 and said to them, I am this day a hundred and twenty years [old]; I shall not be able any longer to come in or go out; and the Lord said to me, Thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 3 The Lord thy God who goes before thee, he shall destroy these nations before thee, and thou shalt inherit them: and [it shall be] Joshua that goes before thy face, as the Lord has spoken. 4 And the Lord thy God shall do to them as he did to Seon and Og the two kings of the Amorites, who were beyond Jordan, and to their land, as he destroyed them. 5 And the Lord has delivered them to you; and ye shall do to them, as I charged you. 6 Be courageous and strong, fear not, neither be cowardly, neither be afraid before them; for [it is] the Lord your God that advances with you in the midst of you, neither will he by any means forsake thee, nor desert thee. 7 And Moses called Joshua, and said to him before all Israel, Be courageous and strong; for thou shalt go in before this people into the land which the Lord sware to your fathers to give to them, and thou shalt give it to them for an inheritance. 8 And the Lord that goes with thee shall not forsake thee nor abandon thee; fear not, neither be afraid. 9 And Moses wrote the words of this law in a book, and gave it to the priests the sons of Levi who bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and to the elders of the sons of Israel. 10 And Moses charged them in that day, saying, After seven years, in the time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, 11 when all Israel come together to appear before the Lord your God, in the place which the Lord shall choose, ye shall read this law before all Israel in their ears, 12 having assembled the people, the men, and the women, and the children, and the stranger that is in your cities, that they may hear, and that they may learn to fear the Lord your God; and they shall hearken to do all the words of this law. 13 And their sons who have not known shall hear, and shall learn to fear the Lord thy God all the days that they live upon the land, into which ye go over Jordan to inherit it. 14 And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, the days of thy death are at hand; call Joshua, and stand ye by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony, and I will give him a charge. And Moses and Joshua went to the tabernacle of testimony, and stood by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony. 15 And the Lord descended in a cloud, and stood by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony; and the pillar of the cloud stood by the doors of the tabernacle of testimony. 16 And the Lord said to Moses, Behold, thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, and this people will arise and go a whoring after the strange gods of the land, into which they are entering: and they will forsake me, and break my covenant, which I made with them. 17 And I will be very angry with them in that day, and I will leave them and turn my face away from them, and they shall be devoured; and many evils and afflictions shall come upon them; and they shall say in that day, Because the Lord my God is not with me, these evils have come upon me. 18 And I will surely turn away my face from them in that day, because of all their evil doings which they have done, because they turned aside after strange gods. 19 And now write the words of this song, and teach it to the children of Israel, and ye shall put it into their mouth, that this song may witness for me among the children of Israel to their face. 20 For I will bring them into the good land, which I sware to their fathers, to give to them a land flowing with milk and honey: and they shall eat and be filled and satisfy [themselves]; then will they turn aside after other gods, and serve them, and they will provoke me, and break my covenant. 21 And this song shall stand up to witness against them; for they shall not forget it out of their mouth, or out of the mouth of their seed; for I know their wickedness, what they are doing here this day, before I have brought them into the good land, which I sware to their fathers. 22 And Moses wrote this song in that day, and taught it to the children of Israel. 23 And he charged Joshua, and said, Be courageous and strong, for thou shalt bring the sons of Israel into the land, which the Lord sware to them, and he shall be with thee. 24 And when Moses finished writing all the words of this law in a book, even to the end, 25 then he charged the Levites who bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, 26 Take the book of this law, and ye shall put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God; and it shall be there among you for a testimony. 27 For I know thy provocation, and thy stiff neck; for yet during my life with you at this day, ye have been provoking in your conduct toward God: how shall ye not also be so after my death? 28 Gather together to me the heads of your tribes, and your elders, and your judges, and your officers, that I may speak in their ears all these words; and I call both heaven and earth to witness against them. 29 For I know that after my death ye will utterly transgress, and turn aside out of the way which I have commanded you; and evils shall come upon you in the latter days, because ye will do evil before the Lord, to provoke him to anger by the works of your hands. 30 And Moses spoke all the words of this song even to the end, in the ears of the whole assembly.

Luke 1

1 Since many have undertaken to set in order a narrative concerning those matters which have been fulfilled among us, 2 even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us, 3 it seemed good to me also, having traced the course of all things accurately from the first, to write to you in order, most excellent Theophilus; 4 that you might know the certainty concerning the things in which you were instructed. 5 There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the priestly division of Abijah. He had a wife of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 They were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and they both were well advanced in years. 8 Now while he executed the priest’s office before God in the order of his division 9 according to the custom of the priest’s office, his lot was to enter into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 The whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 An angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 Zacharias was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, “Don’t be afraid, Zacharias, because your request has been heard. Your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 You will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth. 15 For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. 16 He will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, ‘to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to prepare a people prepared for the Lord.” 18 Zacharias said to the angel, “How can I be sure of this? For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years.” 19 The angel answered him, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God. I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 Behold, you will be silent and not able to speak until the day that these things will happen, because you didn’t believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their proper time.” 21 The people were waiting for Zacharias, and they marveled that he delayed in the temple. 22 When he came out, he could not speak to them. They perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple. He continued making signs to them, and remained mute. 23 When the days of his service were fulfilled, he departed to his house. 24 After these days Elizabeth his wife conceived, and she hid herself five months, saying, 25 “Thus has the Lord done to me in the days in which he looked at me, to take away my reproach among men.” 26 Now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man whose name was Joseph, of David’s house. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 Having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, you highly favored one! The Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered what kind of salutation this might be. 30 The angel said to her, “Don’t be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 Behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and shall name him ‘Jesus.’ 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever. There will be no end to his Kingdom.” 34 Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, seeing I am a virgin?” 35 The angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore also the holy one who is born from you will be called the Son of God. 36 Behold, Elizabeth your relative also has conceived a son in her old age; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren. 37 For nothing spoken by God is impossible.” 38 Mary said, “Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word.” Then the angel departed from her. 39 Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 She called out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 Why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting came into my ears, the baby leaped in my womb for joy! 45 Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of the things which have been spoken to her from the Lord!” 46 Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord. 47 My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked at the humble state of his servant. For behold, from now on, all generations will call me blessed. 49 For he who is mighty has done great things for me. Holy is his name. 50 His mercy is for generations and generations on those who fear him. 51 He has shown strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down princes from their thrones, and has exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things. He has sent the rich away empty. 54 He has given help to Israel, his servant, that he might remember mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever.” 56 Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her house. 57 Now the time that Elizabeth should give birth was fulfilled, and she gave birth to a son. 58 Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 On the eighth day, they came to circumcise the child; and they would have called him Zacharias, after the name of his father. 60 His mother answered, “Not so; but he will be called John.” 61 They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name.” 62 They made signs to his father, what he would have him called. 63 He asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, “His name is John.” They all marveled. 64 His mouth was opened immediately and his tongue freed, and he spoke, blessing God. 65 Fear came on all who lived around them, and all these sayings were talked about throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 All who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying, “What then will this child be?” The hand of the Lord was with him. 67 His father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying, 68 “Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people; 69 and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David 70 (as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets who have been from of old), 71 salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; 72 to show mercy toward our fathers, to remember his holy covenant, 73 the oath which he swore to Abraham our father, 74 to grant to us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies, should serve him without fear, 75 in holiness and righteousness before him all the days of our life. 76 And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways, 77 to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the remission of their sins, 78 because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the dawn from on high will visit us, 79 to shine on those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death; to guide our feet into the way of peace.” 80 The child was growing and becoming strong in spirit, and was in the desert until the day of his public appearance to Israel.