Readings for April 6, 2012: Friday of the 6th week of Great Lent

10 Rejoice, O Jerusalem, and all ye that love her hold in her a general assembly: rejoice greatly with her, all that [now] mourn over her: 11 that ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breast of her consolation; that ye may milk out, and delight yourselves with the influx of her glory. 12 For thus saith the Lord, Behold, I turn toward them as a river of peace, and as a torrent bringing upon them in a flood the glory of the Gentiles: their children shall be borne upon the shoulders, and comforted on the knees. 13 As if his mother should comfort one, so will I also comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem. 14 And ye shall see, and your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall thrive like grass: and the hand of the Lord shall be known to them that fear him, and he shall threaten the disobedient. 15 For, behold, the Lord will come as fire, and his chariots as a storm, to render his vengeance with wrath, and his rebuke with a flame of fire. 16 For with the fire of the Lord all the earth shall be judged, and all flesh with his sword: many shall be slain by the Lord. 17 They that sanctify themselves and purify themselves in the gardens, and eat swine's flesh in the porches, and the abominations, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the Lord. 18 And I [know] their works and their imagination. I am going to gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory. 19 And I will leave a sign upon them, and I will send forth them that have escaped of them to the nations, to Tharsis, and Phud, and Lud, and Mosoch, and to Thobel, and to Greece, and to the isles afar off, to those who have not heard my name, nor seen my glory; and they shall declare my glory among the Gentiles. 20 And they shall bring your brethren out of all nations for a gift to the Lord with horses, and chariots, in litters [drawn by] mules with awnings, to the holy city Jerusalem, said the Lord, as though the children of Israel should bring their sacrifices to me with psalms into the house of the Lord. 21 And I will take of them priests and Levites, saith the Lord. 22 For as the new heaven and the new earth, which I make, remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name continue. 23 And it shall come to pass from month to month, and from sabbath to sabbath, [that] all flesh shall come to worship before me in Jerusalem, saith the Lord. 24 And they shall go forth, and see the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a spectacle to all flesh.

Genesis 49

33 And Jacob ceased giving charges to his sons; and having lifted up his feet on the bed, he died, and was gathered to his people.

Genesis 50

1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept on him, and kissed him. 2 And Joseph commanded his servants the embalmers to embalm his father; and the embalmers embalmed Israel. 3 And they fulfilled forty days for him, for so are the days of embalming numbered; and Egypt mourned for him seventy days. 4 And when the days of mourning were past, Joseph spoke to the princes of Pharao, saying, If I have found favour in your sight, speak concerning me in the ears of Pharao, saying, 5 My father adjured me, saying, In the sepulchre which I dug for myself in the land of Chanaan, there thou shalt bury me; now then I will go up and bury my father, and return again. 6 And Pharao said to Joseph, Go up, bury thy father, as he constrained thee to swear. 7 So Joseph went up to bury his father; and all the servants of Pharao went up with him, and the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt. 8 And all the household of Joseph, and his brethren, and all the house of his father, and his kindred; and they left behind the sheep and the oxen in the land of Gesem. 9 And there went up with him also chariots and horsemen; and there was a very great company. 10 And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan; and they bewailed him with a great and very sore lamentation; and he made a mourning for his father seven days. 11 And the inhabitants of the land of Chanaan saw the mourning at the floor of Atad, and said, This is a great mourning to the Egyptians; therefore he called its name, The mourning of Egypt, which is beyond Jordan. 12 And thus his sons did to him. 13 So his sons carried him up into the land of Chanaan, and buried him in the double cave, which cave Abraam bought for possession of a burying place, of Ephrom the Chettite, before Mambre. 14 And Joseph returned to Egypt, he and his brethren, and those that had gone up with him to bury his father. 15 And when the brethren of Joseph saw that their father was dead, they said, [Let us take heed], lest at any time Joseph remember evil against us, and recompense to us all the evils which we have done against him. 16 And they came to Joseph, and said, Thy father adjured [us] before his death, saying, 17 Thus say ye to Joseph, Forgive them their injustice and their sin, forasmuch as they have done thee evil; and now pardon the injustice of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept while they spoke to him. 18 And they came to him and said, We, these [persons], are thy servants. 19 And Joseph said to them, Fear not, for I am God's. 20 Ye took counsel against me for evil, but God took counsel for me for good, that [the matter] might be as [it is] to-day, and much people might be fed. 21 And he said to them, Fear not, I will maintain you, and your families: and he comforted them, and spoke kindly to them. 22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he and his brethren, and all the family of his father; and Joseph lived a hundred and ten years. 23 And Joseph saw the children of Ephraim to the third generation; and the sons of Machir the son of Manasse were borne on the sides of Joseph. 24 And Joseph spoke to his brethren, saying, I die, and God will surely visit you, and will bring you out of this land to the land concerning which God sware to our fathers, Abraam, Isaac, and Jacob. 25 And Joseph adjured the sons of Israel, saying, At the visitation with which God shall visit you, then ye shall carry up my bones hence with you. 26 And Joseph died, aged an hundred and ten years; and they prepared his corpse, and put him in a coffin in Egypt.

10 Who shall find a virtuous woman? for such a one is more valuable than precious stones. 11 The heart of her husband trusts in her: such a one shall stand in no need of fine spoils. 12 For she employs all her living for her husband's good. 13 Gathering wool and flax, she makes it serviceable with her hands. 14 She is like a ship trading from a distance: so she procures her livelihood. 15 And she rises by night, and gives food to her household, and [appointed] tasks to her maidens. 16 She views a farm, and buys it: and with the fruit of her hands she plants a possession. 17 She strongly girds her loins, and strengthens her arms for work. 18 And she finds by experience that working is good; and her candle goes not out all night. 19 She reaches forth her arms to needful [works], and applies her hands to the spindle. 20 And she opens her hands to the needy, and reaches out fruit to the poor. 21 Her husband is not anxious about those at home when he tarries anywhere abroad: for all her household are clothed. 22 She makes for her husband clothes of double texture, and garments for herself of fine linen and scarlet. 23 And her husband becomes a distinguished [person] in the gates, when he sits in council with the old inhabitants of the land. 24 She makes fine linens, and sells girdles to the Chananites: she opens her mouth heedfully and with propriety, and controls her tongue. 25 She puts on strength and honour; and rejoices in the last days. 26 The ways of her household are careful, and she eats not the bread of idleness. 27 But she opens her mouth wisely, and according to law. 28 And [her] kindness to them sets up her children for them, and they grow rich, and her husband praises her. 29 Many daughters have obtained wealth, many have wrought valiantly; but thou hast exceeded, thou hast surpassed all. 30 Charms are false, and woman's beauty is vain: for it is a wise woman that is blessed, and let her praise the fear of the Lord. 31 Give her of the fruit of her lips; and let her husband be praised in the gates.

10 And Jacob went forth from the well of the oath, and departed into Charrhan. 11 And came to a certain place and slept there, for the sun had gone down; and he took [one] of the stones of the place, and put it at his head, and lay down to sleep in that place, 12 and dreamed, and behold a ladder fixed on the earth, whose top reached to heaven, and the angels of God ascended and descended on it. 13 And the Lord stood upon it, and said, I am the God of thy father Abraam, and the God of Isaac; fear not, the land on which thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed. 14 And thy seed shall be as the sand of the earth; and it shall spread abroad to the sea, and the south, and the north, and to the east; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed. 15 And behold I am with thee to preserve thee continually in all the way wherein thou shalt go; and I will bring thee back to this land; for I will not desert thee, until I have done all that I have said to thee. 16 And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and said, The Lord is in this place, and I knew it not. 17 And he was afraid, and said, How fearful is this place! this is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.

Ezekiel 43

27 And it shall come to pass from the eighth day and onward, [that] the priests shall offer your whole-burnt-offerings on the altar, and your peace-offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord.

Ezekiel 44

1 Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary that looks eastward; and it was shut. 2 And the Lord said to me, This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no one shall pass through it; for the Lord God of Israel shall enter by it, and it shall be shut. 3 For the prince, he shall sit in it, to eat bread before the Lord; he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go forth by the way of the same. 4 And he brought me in by the way of the gate that looks northward, in front of the house: and I looked, and, behold, the house was full of the glory of the Lord: and I fell upon my face.

1 Wisdom has built a house for herself, and set up seven pillars. 2 She has killed her beasts; she has mingled her wine in a bowl, and prepared her table. 3 She has sent forth her servants, calling with a loud proclamation to the feast, saying, 4 Whoso is foolish, let him turn aside to me: and to them that want understanding she says, 5 Come, eat of my bread, and drink wine which I have mingled for you. 6 Leave folly, that ye may reign for ever; and seek wisdom, and improve understanding by knowledge. 7 He that reproves evil [men] shall get dishonour to himself; and he that rebukes an ungodly [man] shall disgrace himself. 8 Rebuke not evil [men], lest they should hate thee: rebuke a wise [man], and he will love thee. 9 Give an opportunity to a wise [man], and he will be wiser: instruct a just man, and he will receive more [instruction]. 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the counsel of saints is understanding: 10a for to know the law is [the character] of a sound mind. 11 For in this way thou shalt live long, and years of thy life shall be added to thee.

1 And Moses was feeding the flock of Jothor his father-in-law, the priest of Madiam; and he brought the sheep nigh to the wilderness, and came to the mount of Choreb. 2 And an angel of the Lord appeared to him in flaming fire out of the bush, and he sees that the bush burns with fire,—but the bush was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, I will go near and see this great sight, why the bush is not consumed. 4 And when the Lord saw that he drew nigh to see, the Lord called him out of the bush, saying, Moses, Moses; and he said, What is it? 5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: loose thy sandals from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6 And he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraam, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; and Moses turned away his face, for he was afraid to gaze at God. 7 And the Lord said to Moses, I have surely seen the affliction of my people that is in Egypt, and I have heard their cry [caused] by their task-masters; for I know their affliction. 8 And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them out of that land, and to bring them into a good and wide land, into a land flowing with milk and honey, into the place of the Chananites, and the Chettites, and Amorites, and Pherezites, and Gergesites, and Evites, and Jebusites.

22 The Lord made me the beginning of his ways for his works. 23 He established me before time [was] in the beginning, before he made the earth: 24 even before he made the depths; before the fountains of water came forth: 25 before the mountains were settled, and before all hills, he begets me. 26 The Lord made countries and uninhabited [tracts], and the highest inhabited parts of the world. 27 When he prepared the heaven, I was present with him; and when he prepared his throne upon the winds: 28 and when he strengthened the clouds above; and when he secured the fountains of the earth: 29 and when he strengthened the foundations of the earth: 30 I was by him, suiting [myself to him], I was that wherein he took delight; and daily I rejoiced in his presence continually.