Daily Readings

13th February

Exodus 23

1 Thou shalt not raise a false report: put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness.2 Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil; neither shalt thou speak in a cause to decline after many to wrest judgment:3 Neither shalt thou countenance a poor man in his cause.4 If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again.5 If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shalt surely help with him.6 Thou shalt not wrest the judgment of thy poor in his cause.7 Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked.8 And thou shalt take no gift: for the gift blindeth the wise, and perverteth the words of the righteous.9 Also thou shalt not oppress a stranger: for ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.10 And six years thou shalt sow thy land, and shalt gather in the fruits thereof:11 But the seventh year thou shalt let it rest and lie still; that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy oliveyard.12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.13 And in all things that I have said unto you be circumspect: and make no mention of the name of other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy mouth.14 Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in the year.15 Thou shalt keep the feast of unleavened bread: (thou shalt eat unleavened bread seven days, as I commanded thee, in the time appointed of the month Abib; for in it thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear before me empty:)16 And the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: and the feast of ingathering, which is in the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out of the field.17 Three items in the year all thy males shall appear before the LORD God.18 Thou shalt not offer the blood of my sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of my sacrifice remain until the morning.19 The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk.20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.24 Thou shalt not bow down to their gods, nor serve them, nor do after their works: but thou shalt utterly overthrow them, and quite break down their images.25 And ye shall serve the LORD your God, and he shall bless thy bread, and thy water; and I will take sickness away from the midst of thee.26 There shall nothing cast their young, nor be barren, in thy land: the number of thy days I will fulfil.27 I will send my fear before thee, and will destroy all the people to whom thou shalt come, and I will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee.28 And I will send hornets before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.29 I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee.30 By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land.31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand; and thou shalt drive them out before thee.32 Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods.33 They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.

Psalms 77

1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave ear unto me.2 In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord: my sore ran in the night, and ceased not: my soul refused to be comforted.3 I remembered God, and was troubled: I complained, and my spirit was overwhelmed. Selah.4 Thou holdest mine eyes waking: I am so troubled that I cannot speak.5 I have considered the days of old, the years of ancient times.6 I call to remembrance my song in the night: I commune with mine own heart: and my spirit made diligent search.7 Will the Lord cast off for ever? and will he be favourable no more?8 Is his mercy clean gone for ever? doth his promise fail for evermore?9 Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger shut up his tender mercies? Selah.10 And I said, This is my infirmity: but I will remember the years of the right hand of the most High.11 I will remember the works of the LORD: surely I will remember thy wonders of old.12 I will meditate also of all thy work, and talk of thy doings.13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?14 Thou art the God that doest wonders: thou hast declared thy strength among the people.15 Thou hast with thine arm redeemed thy people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.16 The waters saw thee, O God, the waters saw thee; they were afraid: the depths also were troubled.17 The clouds poured out water: the skies sent out a sound: thine arrows also went abroad.18 The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.19 Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known.20 Thou leddest thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Mark 9

1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.2 And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them.3 And his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so as no fuller on earth can white them.4 And there appeared unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with Jesus.5 And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.6 For he wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid.7 And there was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.8 And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves.9 And as they came down from the mountain, he charged them that they should tell no man what things they had seen, till the Son of man were risen from the dead.10 And they kept that saying with themselves, questioning one with another what the rising from the dead should mean.11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.19 He answereth him, and saith, O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? how long shall I suffer you? bring him unto me.20 And they brought him unto him: and when he saw him, straightway the spirit tare him; and he fell on the ground, and wallowed foaming.21 And he asked his father, How long is it ago since this came unto him? And he said, Of a child.22 And ofttimes it hath cast him into the fire, and into the waters, to destroy him: but if thou canst do any thing, have compassion on us, and help us.23 Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, he rebuked the foul spirit, saying unto him, Thou dumb and deaf spirit, I charge thee, come out of him, and enter no more into him.26 And the spirit cried, and rent him sore, and came out of him: and he was as one dead; insomuch that many said, He is dead.27 But Jesus took him by the hand, and lifted him up; and he arose.28 And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?29 And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting.30 And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it.31 For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day.32 But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him.33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way?34 But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.36 And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them,37 Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.38 And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.40 For he that is not against us is on our part.41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.50 Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.