Daily Readings

¹ And Abraham was old, and well stricken in age: and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.² And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:³ And I will make thee swear by the LORD, the God of heaven, and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take a wife unto my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell:⁴ But thou shalt go unto my country, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son Isaac.⁵ And the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou camest?⁶ And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that thou bring not my son thither again.⁷ The LORD God of heaven, which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my kindred, and which spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying, Unto thy seed will I give this land; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son from thence.⁸ And if the woman will not be willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my oath: only bring not my son thither again.⁹ And the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning that matter.¹⁰ And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.¹¹ And he made his camels to kneel down without the city by a well of water at the time of the evening, even the time that women go out to draw water.¹² And he said O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham.¹³ Behold, I stand here by the well of water; and the daughters of the men of the city come out to draw water:¹⁴ And let it come to pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say, Let down thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink; and she shall say, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: let the same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant Isaac; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed kindness unto my master.¹⁵ And it came to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel, son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, with her pitcher upon her shoulder.¹⁶ And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.¹⁷ And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.¹⁸ And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.¹⁹ And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw water for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.²⁰ And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw water, and drew for all his camels.²¹ And the man wondering at her held his peace, to wit whether the LORD had made his journey prosperous or not.²² And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;²³ And said, Whose daughter art thou? tell me, I pray thee: is there room in thy father's house for us to lodge in?²⁴ And she said unto him, I am the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto Nahor.²⁵ She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in.²⁶ And the man bowed down his head, and worshipped the LORD.²⁷ And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of my master Abraham, who hath not left destitute my master of his mercy and his truth: I being in the way, the LORD led me to the house of my master's brethren.²⁸ And the damsel ran, and told them of her mother's house these things.²⁹ And Rebekah had a brother, and his name was Laban: and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the well.³⁰ And it came to pass, when he saw the earring and bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying, Thus spake the man unto me; that he came unto the man; and, behold, he stood by the camels at the well.³¹ And he said, Come in, thou blessed of the LORD; wherefore standest thou without? for I have prepared the house, and room for the camels.³² And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels, and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the men's feet that were with him.³³ And there was set meat before him to eat: but he said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And he said, Speak on.³⁴ And he said, I am Abraham's servant.³⁵ And the LORD hath blessed my master greatly; and he is become great: and he hath given him flocks, and herds, and silver, and gold, and menservants, and maidservants, and camels, and asses.³⁶ And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my master when she was old: and unto him hath he given all that he hath.³⁷ And my master made me swear, saying, Thou shalt not take a wife to my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell:³⁸ But thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my kindred, and take a wife unto my son.³⁹ And I said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me.⁴⁰ And he said unto me, The LORD, before whom I walk, will send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way; and thou shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my father's house:⁴¹ Then shalt thou be clear from this my oath, when thou comest to my kindred; and if they give not thee one, thou shalt be clear from my oath.⁴² And I came this day unto the well, and said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way which I go:⁴³ Behold, I stand by the well of water; and it shall come to pass, that when the virgin cometh forth to draw water, and I say to her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink;⁴⁴ And she say to me, Both drink thou, and I will also draw for thy camels: let the same be the woman whom the LORD hath appointed out for my master's son.⁴⁵ And before I had done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her shoulder; and she went down unto the well, and drew water: and I said unto her, Let me drink, I pray thee.⁴⁶ And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the camels drink also.⁴⁷ And I asked her, and said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said, the daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him: and I put the earring upon her face, and the bracelets upon her hands.⁴⁸ And I bowed down my head, and worshipped the LORD, and blessed the LORD God of my master Abraham, which had led me in the right way to take my master's brother's daughter unto his son.⁴⁹ And now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell me: and if not, tell me; that I may turn to the right hand, or to the left.⁵⁰ Then Laban and Bethuel answered and said, The thing proceedeth from the LORD: we cannot speak unto thee bad or good.⁵¹ Behold, Rebekah is before thee, take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, as the LORD hath spoken.⁵² And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.⁵³ And the servant brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, and gave them to Rebekah: he gave also to her brother and to her mother precious things.⁵⁴ And they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, and tarried all night; and they rose up in the morning, and he said, Send me away unto my master.⁵⁵ And her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide with us a few days, at the least ten; after that she shall go.⁵⁶ And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing the LORD hath prospered my way; send me away that I may go to my master.⁵⁷ And they said, We will call the damsel, and enquire at her mouth.⁵⁸ And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go.⁵⁹ And they sent away Rebekah their sister, and her nurse, and Abraham's servant, and his men.⁶⁰ And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of millions, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.⁶¹ And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon the camels, and followed the man: and the servant took Rebekah, and went his way.⁶² And Isaac came from the way of the well Lahairoi; for he dwelt in the south country.⁶³ And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide: and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, the camels were coming.⁶⁴ And Rebekah lifted up her eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel.⁶⁵ For she had said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh in the field to meet us? And the servant had said, It is my master: therefore she took a vail, and covered herself.⁶⁶ And the servant told Isaac all things that he had done.⁶⁷ And Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and took Rebekah, and she became his wife; and he loved her: and Isaac was comforted after his mother's death.

¹ Give unto the LORD, O ye mighty, give unto the LORD glory and strength.² Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.³ The voice of the LORD is upon the waters: the God of glory thundereth: the LORD is upon many waters.⁴ The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.⁵ The voice of the LORD breaketh the cedars; yea, the LORD breaketh the cedars of Lebanon.⁶ He maketh them also to skip like a calf; Lebanon and Sirion like a young unicorn.⁷ The voice of the LORD divideth the flames of fire.⁸ The voice of the LORD shaketh the wilderness; the LORD shaketh the wilderness of Kadesh.⁹ The voice of the LORD maketh the hinds to calve, and discovereth the forests: and in his temple doth every one speak of his glory.¹⁰ The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.¹¹ The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.

¹ I will extol thee, O LORD; for thou hast lifted me up, and hast not made my foes to rejoice over me.² O LORD my God, I cried unto thee, and thou hast healed me.³ O LORD, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave: thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.⁴ Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness.⁵ For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.⁶ And in my prosperity I said, I shall never be moved.⁷ LORD, by thy favour thou hast made my mountain to stand strong: thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled.⁸ I cried to thee, O LORD; and unto the LORD I made supplication.⁹ What profit is there in my blood, when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? shall it declare thy truth?¹⁰ Hear, O LORD, and have mercy upon me: LORD, be thou my helper.¹¹ Thou hast turned for me my mourning into dancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness;¹² To the end that my glory may sing praise to thee, and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.

¹ Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,² Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.³ But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?⁴ For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.⁵ But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;⁶ And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.⁷ Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,⁸ This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.⁹ But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.¹⁰ And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:¹¹ Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.¹² Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?¹³ But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.¹⁴ Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.¹⁵ Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.¹⁶ And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding?¹⁷ Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?¹⁸ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.¹⁹ For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:²⁰ These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.²¹ Then Jesus went thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.²² And, behold, a woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, thou son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed with a devil.²³ But he answered her not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for she crieth after us.²⁴ But he answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.²⁵ Then came she and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me.²⁶ But he answered and said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs.²⁷ And she said, Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table.²⁸ Then Jesus answered and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour.²⁹ And Jesus departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a mountain, and sat down there.³⁰ And great multitudes came unto him, having with them those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed them:³¹ Insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God of Israel.³² Then Jesus called his disciples unto him, and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they continue with me now three days, and have nothing to eat: and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint in the way.³³ And his disciples say unto him, Whence should we have so much bread in the wilderness, as to fill so great a multitude?³⁴ And Jesus saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? And they said, Seven, and a few little fishes.³⁵ And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.³⁶ And he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and gave thanks, and brake them, and gave to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude.³⁷ And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets full.³⁸ And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children.³⁹ And he sent away the multitude, and took ship, and came into the coasts of Magdala.