Day 85 The Bible in a Year (Orthodox canon)

1 Samuel 15

1 And Samuel said to Saul, The Lord sent me to anoint thee king over Israel: and now hear the voice of the Lord. 2 Thus said the Lord of hosts, Now will I take vengeance for what Amalec did to Israel, when he met him in the way as he came up out of Egypt. 3 And now go, and thou shalt smite Amalec and Hierim and all that belongs to him, and thou shalt not save anything of him alive, but thou shalt utterly destroy him: and thou shalt devote him and all his [to destruction], and thou shalt spare nothing belonging to him; and thou shalt slay both man and woman, and infant and suckling, and calf and sheep, and camel and ass. 4 And Saul summoned the people, and he numbered them in Galgala, four hundred thousand regular troops, and Juda thirty thousand regular troops. 5 And Saul came to the cities of Amalec, and laid wait in the valley. 6 And Saul said to the Kinite, Go, and depart out of the midst of the Amalekites, lest I put thee with them; for thou dealedst mercifully with the children of Israel when they went up out of Egypt. So the Kinite departed from the midst of Amalec. 7 And Saul smote Amalec from Evilat to Sur fronting Egypt. 8 And he took Agag the king of Amalec alive, and he slew all the people and Hierim with the edge of the sword. 9 And Saul and all the people saved Agag alive, and the best of the flocks, and of the herds, and of the fruits, of the vineyards, and of all the good things; and they would not destroy them: but every worthless and refuse thing they destroyed. 10 And the word of the Lord came to Samuel, saying, 11 I have repented that I have made Saul to be king: for he has turned back from following me, and has not kept my word. And Samuel was grieved, and cried to the Lord all night. 12 And Samuel rose early and went to meet Israel in the morning, and it was told Saul, saying, Samuel has come to Carmel, and he has raised up help for himself: and he turned his chariot, and came down to Galgala to Saul; and, behold, he was offering up a whole-burnt-offering to the Lord, the chief of the spoils which he brought out of Amalec. 13 And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said to him, Blessed [art] thou of the Lord: I have performed all that the Lord said. 14 And Samuel said, What then [is] the bleating of this flock in my ears, and the sound of the oxen which I hear? 15 And Saul said, I have brought them out of Amalec, that which the people preserved, even the best of the sheep, and of the cattle, that it might be sacrificed to the Lord thy God, and the rest have I utterly destroyed. 16 And Samuel said to Saul, Stay, and I will tell thee what the Lord has said to me this night: and he said to him, Say on. 17 And Samuel said to Saul, Art thou not little in his eyes, [though] a leader of one of the tribes of Israel? and [yet] the Lord anointed thee to be king over Israel. 18 And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said to thee, Go, and utterly destroy: thou shalt slay the sinners against me, [even] the Amalekites; and thou shalt war against them until thou have consumed them. 19 And why didst not thou hearken to the voice of the Lord, but didst haste to fasten upon the spoils, and didst that which was evil in the sight of the Lord? 20 And Saul said to Samuel, Because I listened to the voice of the people: yet I went the way by which the Lord sent me, and I brought Agag the king of Amalec, and I destroyed Amalec. 21 But the people took of the spoils the best flocks and herds [out] of that which was destroyed, to sacrifice before the Lord our God in Galgal. 22 And Samuel said, Does the Lord take pleasure in whole-burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in hearing the words of the Lord? behold, obedience [is] better than a good sacrifice, and hearkening than the fat of rams. 23 For sin is [as] divination; idols bring on pain and grief. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord also shall reject thee from being king over Israel. 24 And Saul said to Samuel, I have sinned, in that I have transgressed the word of the Lord and thy direction; for I feared the people, and I hearkened to their voice. 25 And now remove, I pray thee, my sin, and turn back with me, and I will worship the Lord thy God. 26 And Samuel said to Saul, I will not turn back with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord will reject thee from being king over Israel. 27 And Samuel turned his face to depart, and Saul caught hold of the skirt of his garment, and tore it. 28 And Samuel said to him, The Lord has rent thy kingdom from Israel out of thy hand this day, and will give it to thy neighbour who is better than thou. 29 And Israel shall be divided to two: and [God] will not turn nor repent, for he is not as a man to repent. 30 And Saul said, I have sinned; yet honour me, I pray thee, before the elders of Israel, and before my people; and turn back with me, and I will worship the Lord thy God. 31 So Samuel turned back after Saul, and he worshipped the Lord. 32 And Samuel said, Bring me Agag the king of Amalec: and Agag came to him trembling; and Agag said, Is death thus bitter? 33 And Samuel said to Agag, As thy sword has bereaved women of their children, so shall thy mother be made childless among women: and Samuel slew Agag before the Lord in Galgal. 34 And Samuel departed to Armathaim, and Saul went up to his house at Gabaa. 35 And Samuel did not see Saul again till the day of his death, for Samuel mourned after Saul, and the Lord repented that he had made Saul king over Israel.

1 Samuel 16

1 And the Lord said to Samuel, How long dost thou mourn for Saul, whereas I have rejected him from reigning over Israel? Fill thy horn with oil, and come, I will send thee to Jessæ, to Bethleem; for I have seen among his sons a king for me. 2 And Samuel said, How can I go? whereas Saul will hear of it, and slay me: and the Lord said, Take a heifer in thine hand and thou shalt say, I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. 3 And thou shalt call Jessæ to the sacrifice, and I will make known to thee what thou shalt do; and thou shalt anoint him whom I shall mention to thee. 4 And Samuel did all that the Lord told him; and he came to Bethleem: and the elders of the city were amazed at meeting him, and said, Dost thou come peaceably, thou Seer? 5 And he said, Peaceably: I am come to sacrifice to the Lord. Sanctify yourselves, and rejoice with me this day: and he sanctified Jessæ and his sons, and he called them to the sacrifice. 6 And it came to pass when they came in, that he saw Eliab, and said, Surely the Lord's anointed [is] before him. 7 But the Lord said to Samuel, Look not on his appearance, nor on his stature, for I have rejected him; for God sees not as a man looks; for man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart. 8 And Jessæ called Aminadab, and he passed before Samuel: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. 9 And Jessæ caused Sama to pass by: and he said, Neither has God chosen this one. 10 And Jessæ caused his seven sons to pass before Samuel: and Samuel said, The Lord has not chosen these. 11 And Samuel said to Jessæ, Hast thou no more sons? And Jessæ said, [There is] yet a little one; behold, he tends the flock. And Samuel said to Jessæ, Send and fetch him, for we may not sit down till he comes. 12 And he sent and fetched him: and he was ruddy, with beauty of eyes, and very goodly to behold. And the Lord said to Samuel, Arise, and anoint David, for he is good. 13 And Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward: and Samuel arose, and departed to Armathaim. 14 And the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. 15 And Saul's servants said to him, Behold now, an evil spirit from the Lord torments thee. 16 Let now thy servants speak before thee, and let them seek for our lord a man skilled to play on the harp; and it shall come to pass when an evil spirit comes upon thee and he shall play on his harp, that thou shalt be well, and he shall refresh thee. 17 And Saul said to his servants, Look now out for me a skilful player, and bring him to me. 18 And one of his servants answered and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jessæ the Bethleemite, and he understands playing [on the harp], and the man [is] prudent, and a warrior, and wise in speech, and the man [is] handsome, and the Lord [is] with him. 19 And Saul sent messengers to Jessæ, saying, Send to me thy son David who is with thy flock. 20 And Jessæ took a homer of bread, and a bottle of wine, and one kid of the goats, and sent them by the hand of his son David to Saul. 21 And David went in to Saul, and stood before him; and he loved him greatly; and he became his armour-bearer. 22 And Saul sent to Jessæ, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me, for he has found grace in my eyes. 23 And it came to pass when the evil spirit was upon Saul, that David took his harp, and played with his hand: and Saul was refreshed, and [it was] well with him, and the evil spirit departed from him.

1 Samuel 17

1 And the Philistines gather their armies to battle, and gather themselves to Socchoth of Judæa, and encamp between Socchoth and Azeca Ephermen. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel gather together, and they encamp in the valley, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stand on the mountain on one side, and Israel stands on the mountain on the other side, and the valley was between them. 4 And there went forth a mighty man out of the army of the Philistines, Goliath by name, out of Geth, his height [was] four cubits and a span. 5 And [he had] a helmet upon his head, and he wore a breastplate of chain armour; and the weight of his breastplate [was] five thousand shekels of brass and iron. 6 And greaves of brass [were] upon his legs, and a brazen target [was] between his shoulders. 7 And the staff of his spear [was] like a weavers' beam, and the spear's head [was formed] of six hundred shekels of iron; and his armour-bearer went before him. 8 And he stood and cried to the army of Israel, and said to them, Why are ye come forth to set yourselves in battle array against us? Am not I a Philistine, and ye Hebrews of Saul? choose for yourselves a man, and let him come down to me. 9 And if he shall be able to fight against me, and shall smite me, then will we be your servants: but if I should prevail and smite him, ye shall be our servants, and serve us. 10 And the Philistine said, Behold, I have defied the armies of Israel this very day: give me a man, and we will both of us fight in single combat. 11 And Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, and they were dismayed, and greatly terrified. 12 [And David son of an Ephrathite said, this Ephrathite was of Bethleem Juda, and his name was Jessae, and he had eight sons. And the man passed for an old man among men in the days of Saul. ] 13 [And the three elder sons of Jessae went and followed Saul to the war, and the ] [names of his sons that went to the war were, Eliab his first-born, and his second Aminadab, and his third son Samma. ] 14 [And David himself ] [was the younger son, and the three elder followed Saul. ] 15 [And David departed and returned from Saul, ] [to feed his father’s sheep in Bethleem; ] 16 [And the Philistine advanced morning and evening, and stood up forty days. ] 17 [And Jessae said to David, Take now to thy brethren an ephah of this meal, and these ten loaves, and run to the camp and give them to thy brothers. ] 18 [And thou shalt carry to the captain of the thousand ] [these ten cheeses of milk, and thou shalt see how thy brethren fare, and learn what they want. ] 19 [And Saul himself and all the men of Israel were in the valley of the Oak, warring with the Philistines. ] 20 [And David rose early in the morning, and left the sheep to a keeper, and took and went as Jessae commanded him, and he came to the trench and to the army as it was going out to fight, and they shouted for the battle. ] 21 [And Israel and the Philistines formed their lines one opposite the other. ] 22 [And David deposited his burden in the hand of a keeper, and ran to the line, and went and asked his brethren how they Were. ] 23 [And while he was speaking with them, behold the Amessaean advanced, Goliath by name, the Philistine of Geth, of the armies of the Philistines, and he spoke ] [as before, and David heard. ] 24 [And all the men of Israel when they saw the man fled from before him, and they were greatly terrified. ] 25 [And the men of Israel said, Have ye seen this man that comes up? for he has reproached Israel and has come up; and it shall be that the man who shall smite him, the king shall enrich him with great wealth and shall give him his daughter, and shall make his father’s house free in Israel. ] 26 [and David spoke to the men who stood with him saying, Shall it indeed be done thus to the man who shall smite that Philistine, and take away reproach from Israel? for who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he has defied the army of the living God? ] 27 [And the people spoke to him according to this Word, saying Thus shall it be done to the man Who shall smite him. ] 28 [And Eliab his elder brother heard as he spoke to the men, and Eliab was very angry with David and said, Why hast thou thus come down, and with whom hast thou left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know thy pride and the naughtiness of thine heart, for thou art come down to see the battle. ] 29 [And David said what have I done now? ] [Have I no business here? ] 30 [And he turned from him towards another, and he spoke after the same manner; and the people answered him ] [after the former manner. ] 31 [And the Words which David spoke were heard and were reported ] [to Saul. And he took him to himself. ] 32 And David said to Saul, Let not, I pray thee, the heart of my lord be dejected within him: thy servant will go, and fight with this Philistine. 33 And Saul said to David, Thou wilt not in anywise be able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for thou art a mere youth, and he a man of war from his youth. 34 And David said to Saul, Thy servant was tending the flock for his father; and when a lion came and a she-bear, and took a sheep out of the flock, 35 then I went forth after him, and smote him, and drew [the spoil] out of his mouth: and as he rose up against me, then I caught hold of his throat, and smote him, and slew him. 36 Thy servant smote both the lion and the bear, and the uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them: shall I not go and smite him, and remove this day a reproach from Israel? for who [is] this uncircumcised one, who has defied the army of the living God? 37 The Lord who delivered me out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this uncircumcised Philistine. And Saul said to David, Go, and the Lord shall be with thee. 38 And Saul clothed David with a military coat, and [put] his brazen helmet on his head. 39 And he girt David with his sword over his coat: and he made trial walking [with them] once and again: and David said to Saul, I shall not be able to go with these, for I have not proved [them]: so they remove them from him. 40 And he took his staff in his hand, and he chose for himself five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in the shepherd's scrip which he had for his store, and his sling was in his hand; and he approached the Philistine. 42 And Goliath saw David, and despised him; for he was a lad, and ruddy, with a fair countenance. 43 And the Philistine said to David, Am I as a dog, that thou comest against me with a staff and stones? [and David said, Nay, but worse than a dog.] And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. 44 And the Philistine said to David, Come to me, and I will give thy flesh to the birds of the air, and to the beasts of the earth. 45 And David said to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with sword, and with spear, and with shield; but I come to thee in the name of the Lord God of hosts of the army of Israel, which thou hast defied 46 this day. And the Lord shall deliver thee this day into my hand; and I will slay thee, and take away thy head from off thee, and will give thy limbs and the limbs of the army of the Philistines this day to the birds of the sky, and to the wild beasts of the earth; and all the earth shall know that there is a God in Israel. 47 And all this assembly shall know that the Lord delivers not by sword or spear, for the battle [is] the Lord's, and the Lord will deliver you into our hands. 48 And the Philistine arose and went to meet David. 49 And David stretched out his hand to his scrip, and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine on his forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell upon his face to the ground. 51 And David ran, and stood upon him, and took his sword, and slew him, and cut off his head: and the Philistines saw that their champion was dead, and they fled. 52 And the men of Israel and Juda arose, and shouted and pursued them as far as the entrance to Geth, and as far as the gate of Ascalon: and the slain men of the Philistines fell in the way of the gates, both to Geth, and to Accaron. 53 And the men of Israel returned from pursuing after the Philistines, and they destroyed their camp. 54 And David took the head of the Philistine, and brought it to Jerusalem; but he put his armour in his tent.

Luke 17

1 He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no occasions of stumbling should come, but woe to him through whom they come! 2 It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 Be careful. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in the day, and seven times returns, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” 6 The Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you would tell this sycamore tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. 7 But who is there among you, having a servant plowing or keeping sheep, that will say when he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down at the table’? 8 Wouldn’t he rather tell him, ‘Prepare my supper, clothe yourself properly, and serve me while I eat and drink. Afterward you shall eat and drink’? 9 Does he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded? I think not. 10 Even so you also, when you have done all the things that are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy servants. We have done our duty.’” 11 As he was on his way to Jerusalem, he was passing along the borders of Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he entered into a certain village, ten men who were lepers met him, who stood at a distance. 13 They lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests.” As they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice. 16 He fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus answered, “Weren’t the ten cleansed? But where are the nine? 18 Were there none found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Get up, and go your way. Your faith has healed you.” 20 Being asked by the Pharisees when God’s Kingdom would come, he answered them, “God’s Kingdom doesn’t come with observation; 21 neither will they say, ‘Look, here!’ or, ‘Look, there!’ for behold, God’s Kingdom is within you.” 22 He said to the disciples, “The days will come when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 They will tell you, ‘Look, here!’ or ‘Look, there!’ Don’t go away or follow after them, 24 for as the lightning, when it flashes out of one part under the sky, shines to another part under the sky, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first, he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 As it was in the days of Noah, even so it will also be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They ate, they drank, they married, and they were given in marriage until the day that Noah entered into the ship, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, even as it was in the days of Lot: they ate, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they built; 29 but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, it rained fire and sulfur from the sky and destroyed them all. 30 It will be the same way in the day that the Son of Man is revealed. 31 In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back. 32 Remember Lot’s wife! 33 Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it. 34 I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left. 35 There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left.” 36 — 37 They, answering, asked him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the body is, there the vultures will also be gathered together.”