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Daily Readings
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Wednesday, 20th April 2011 --- 12 Baramoudah 1727
Holy Pascha Week
Wednesday of Pascha_Week
Season Wednesday of the Pascha Week
Tune : Attribis
Strict Abstinence
Wednesday Morning
Theme of the Hours : Judas Betrayal Anointment of Jesus by precious ointment..
The First Hour of Wednesday
Exodus 17 : 1 - 7
Chapter 17
| 1 | Then all the congregation of the children of Israel set out on their journey from the Wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; but there was no water for the people to drink.
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| 2 | Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, "Give us water, that we may drink." So Moses said to them, "Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?"
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| 3 | And the people thirsted there for water, and the people complained against Moses, and said, "Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?"
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| 4 | So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!"
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| 5 | And the LORD said to Moses, "Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel. Also take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go.
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| 6 | Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
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| 7 | So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?"
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Proverbs 3 : 5 - 14
Chapter 3
| 5 | Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;
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| 6 | In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
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| 7 | Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and depart from evil.
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| 8 | It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.
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| 9 | Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase;
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| 10 | So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.
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| 11 | My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction;
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| 12 | For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
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| 13 | Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;
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| 14 | For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
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Hosea 5 : 13 - 6 : 3
Chapter 5
| 13 | "When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah saw his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound.
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| 14 | For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
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| 15 | I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."
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Chapter 6
| 1 | Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.
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| 2 | After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight.
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| 3 | Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth.
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Sirach 1 : 20 - 2 : 15
Chapter 1
| 20 | To fear God is the fulness of wisdom, and fulness is from the fruits thereof.
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| 21 | She shall fill all her house with her increase, and the storehouses with her treasures.
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| 22 | The fear of the Lord is a crown of wisdom, filling up peace and the fruit of salvation:
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| 23 | And it hath seen, and numbered her: but both are the gifts of God.
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| 24 | Wisdom shall distribute knowledge, and understanding of prudence: and exalteth the glory of them that hold her.
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| 25 | The root of wisdom is to fear the Lord: and the branches thereof are longlived.
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| 26 | In the treasures of wisdom is understanding, and religiousness of knowledge: but to sinners wisdom is an abomination.
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| 27 | The fear of the Lord driveth out sin:
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| 28 | For he that is without fear, cannot be justified: for the wrath of his high spirits is his ruin.
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| 29 | A patient man shall bear for a time, and afterwards joy shall be restored to him.
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| 30 | A good understanding will hide his words for a time, and the lips of many shall declare his wisdom.
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| 31 | In the treasures of wisdom is the signification of discipline:
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| 32 | But the worship of God is an abomination to a sinner.
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| 33 | Son, if thou desire wisdom, keep justice, and God will give her to thee.
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| 34 | For the fear of the Lord is wisdom and discipline: and that which is agreeable to him,
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| 35 | Is faith, and meekness: and he will fill up his treasures.
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| 36 | Be not incredulous to the fear of the Lord: and come not to him with a double heart.
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| 37 | Be not a hypocrite in the sight of men, and let not thy lips be a stumblingblock to thee.
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| 38 | Watch over them, lest thou fall, and bring dishonour upon thy soul,
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| 39 | And God discover thy secrets, and cast thee down in the midst of the congregation.
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| 40 | Because thou camest to the Lord wickedly, and thy heart is full of guile and deceit.
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Chapter 2
| 1 | Son, when thou comest to the service of God, stand in justice and in fear, and prepare thy soul for temptation.
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| 2 | Humble thy heart, and endure: incline thy ear, and receive the words of understanding: and make not haste in the time of clouds.
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| 3 | Wait on God with patience: join thyself to God, and endure, that thy life may be increased in the latter end.
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| 4 | Take all that shall be brought upon thee: and in thy sorrow endure, and in thy humiliation keep patience.
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| 5 | For gold and silver are tried in the fire, but acceptable men in the furnace of humiliation.
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| 6 | Believe God, and he will recover thee: and direct thy way, and trust in him. Keep his fear, and grow old therein.
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| 7 | Ye that fear the Lord, wait for his mercy: and go not aside from him, lest ye fall.
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| 8 | Ye that fear the Lord, believe him: and your reward shall not be made void.
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| 9 | Ye that fear the Lord, hope in him: and mercy shall come to you for your delight.
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| 10 | Ye that fear the Lord, love him, and your hearts shall be enlightened.
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| 11 | My children behold the generations of men: and know ye that no one hath hoped in the Lord, and hath been confounded.
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| 12 | For who hath continued in his commandment, and hath been forsaken? or who hath called upon him, and he despised him?
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| 13 | For God is compassionate and merciful, and will forgive sins in the day of tribulation: and he is a protector to all that seek him in truth.
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| 14 | Woe to them that are of a double heart and to wicked lips, and to the hands that do evil, and to the sinner that goeth on the earth two ways.
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| 15 | Woe to them that are fainthearted, who believe not God: and therefore they shall not be protected by him.
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Sirach 3 : 12 - 24
Chapter 3
| 12 | Glory not in the dishonour of thy father: for his shame is no glory to thee.
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| 13 | For the glory of a man is from the honour of his father, and a father without honour is the disgrace of the son.
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| 14 | Son, support the old age of thy father, and grieve him not in his life;
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| 15 | And if his understanding fail, have patience with him, and despise him not when thou art in thy strength: for the relieving of the father shall not be for- gotten.
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| 16 | For good shall be repaid to thee for the sin of thy mother.
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| 17 | And in justice thou shalt be built up, and in the day of affliction thou shalt be remembered: and thy sine shall melt away as the ice in the fair warm weather.
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| 18 | Of what an evil fame is he that forsaketh his father: and he is cursed of God that angereth his mother.
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| 19 | My son, do thy works in meekness, and thou shalt be beloved above the glory of men.
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| 20 | The greater thou art, the more humble thyself in all things, and thou shalt find grace before God:
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| 21 | For great is the power of God alone, and he is honoured by the humble.
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| 22 | Seek not the things that are too high for thee, and search not into things above thy ability: but the things that God hath commanded thee, think on them always, and in many of his works be not curious.
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| 23 | For it is not necessary for thee to see with thy eyes those things that are hid.
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| 24 | In unnecessary matters be not over curious, and in many of his works thou shalt not be inquisitive.
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Psalms 51 : 4
Chapter 51
| 4 | Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight--That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.
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Psalms 33 : 10
Chapter 33
| 10 | The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect.
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John 11 : 46 - 57
Chapter 11
| 46 | But some of them went away to the Pharisees and told them the things Jesus did.
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| 47 | Then the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council and said, "What shall we do? For this Man works many signs.
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| 48 | If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."
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| 49 | And one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all,
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| 50 | nor do you consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish."
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| 51 | Now this he did not say on his own authority; but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation,
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| 52 | and not for that nation only, but also that He would gather together in one the children of God who were scattered abroad.
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| 53 | Then, from that day on, they plotted to put Him to death.
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| 54 | Therefore Jesus no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim, and there remained with His disciples.
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| 55 | And the Passover of the Jews was near, and many went from the country up to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves.
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| 56 | Then they sought Jesus, and spoke among themselves as they stood in the temple, "What do you think--that He will not come to the feast?"
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| 57 | Now both the chief priests and the Pharisees had given a command, that if anyone knew where He was, he should report it, that they might seize Him.
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The Third Hour of Wednesday
Exodus 13 : 17 - 22
Chapter 13
| 17 | Then it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, "Lest perhaps the people change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt."
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| 18 | So God led the people around by way of the wilderness of the Red Sea. And the children of Israel went up in orderly ranks out of the land of Egypt.
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| 19 | And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for he had placed the children of Israel under solemn oath, saying, "God will surely visit you, and you shall carry up my bones from here with you."
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| 20 | So they took their journey from Succoth and camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.
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| 21 | And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
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| 22 | He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day or the pillar of fire by night from before the people.
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Sirach 22 : 7 - 18
Chapter 22
| 7 | He that teacheth a fool, is like one that glueth a potsherd together.
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| 8 | He that telleth a word to him that heareth not, is like one that waketh a man out of a deep sleep.
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| 9 | He speaketh with one that is asleep, who uttereth wisdom to a fool: and in the end of the discourse he saith: Who is this?
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| 10 | Weep for the dead, for his light hath failed: and weep for the fool, for his understanding faileth.
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| 11 | Weep but a little for the dead, for he is at rest.
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| 12 | For the wicked life of a wicked fool is worse than death.
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| 13 | The mourning for the dead is seven days: but for a fool and an ungodly man all the days of their life.
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| 14 | Talk not much with a fool, and go not with him that hath no sense.
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| 15 | Keep thyself from him, that thou mayst not have trouble, and thou shalt not be defiled with his sin.
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| 16 | Turn away from him, and thou shalt find rest, and shalt not be wearied out with his folly.
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| 17 | What is heavier than lead? and what other name hath he but fool?
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| 18 | Sand and salt, and a mass of iron is easier to bear, than a man without sense, that is both foolish and wicked.
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Job 27 : 16 - 20
Chapter 27
| 16 | Though he heaps up silver like dust, And piles up clothing like clay--
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| 17 | He may pile it up, but the just will wear it, And the innocent will divide the silver.
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| 18 | He builds his house like a moth, Like a booth which a watchman makes.
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| 19 | The rich man will lie down, But not be gathered up; He opens his eyes, And he is no more.
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| 20 | Terrors overtake him like a flood; A tempest steals him away in the night.
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Job 28 : 1 - 2
Chapter 28
| 1 | "Surely there is a mine for silver, And a place where gold is refined.
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| 2 | Iron is taken from the earth, And copper is smelted from ore.
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Proverbs 4 : 4 - 5 : 4
Chapter 4
| 4 | He also taught me, and said to me: "Let your heart retain my words; Keep my commands, and live.
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| 5 | Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth.
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| 6 | Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you.
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| 7 | Wisdom is the principal thing; Therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding.
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| 8 | Exalt her, and she will promote you; She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.
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| 9 | She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you."
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| 10 | Hear, my son, and receive my sayings, And the years of your life will be many.
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| 11 | I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in right paths.
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| 12 | When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, And when you run, you will not stumble.
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| 13 | Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; Keep her, for she is your life.
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| 14 | Do not enter the path of the wicked, And do not walk in the way of evil.
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| 15 | Avoid it, do not travel on it; Turn away from it and pass on.
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| 16 | For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; And their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall.
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| 17 | For they eat the bread of wickedness, And drink the wine of violence.
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| 18 | But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
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| 19 | The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.
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| 20 | My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings.
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| 21 | Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart;
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| 22 | For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh.
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| 23 | Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.
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| 24 | Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you.
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| 25 | Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you.
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| 26 | Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established.
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| 27 | Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
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Chapter 5
| 1 | My son, pay attention to my wisdom; Lend your ear to my understanding,
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| 2 | That you may preserve discretion, And your lips may keep knowledge.
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| 3 | For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, And her mouth is smoother than oil;
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| 4 | But in the end she is bitter as wormwood, Sharp as a two-edged sword.
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Psalms 41 : 6,1
Chapter 41
| 6 | And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.
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| 1 | Blessed is he who considers the poor; The LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.
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Luke 22 : 1 - 6
Chapter 22
| 1 | Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread drew near, which is called Passover.
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| 2 | And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him, for they feared the people.
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| 3 | Then Satan entered Judas, surnamed Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve.
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| 4 | So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray Him to them.
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| 5 | And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.
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| 6 | So he promised and sought opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the multitude.
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The Sixth Hour of Wednesday
Exodus 14 : 13 - 15 : 1
Chapter 14
| 13 | And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.
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| 14 | The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."
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| 15 | And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward.
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| 16 | But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
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| 17 | And I indeed will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them. So I will gain honor over Pharaoh and over all his army, his chariots, and his horsemen.
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| 18 | Then the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gained honor for Myself over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen."
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| 19 | And the Angel of God, who went before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them; and the pillar of cloud went from before them and stood behind them.
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| 20 | So it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. Thus it was a cloud and darkness to the one, and it gave light by night to the other, so that the one did not come near the other all that night.
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| 21 | Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea into dry land, and the waters were divided.
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| 22 | So the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea on the dry ground, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
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| 23 | And the Egyptians pursued and went after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
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| 24 | Now it came to pass, in the morning watch, that the LORD looked down upon the army of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and cloud, and He troubled the army of the Egyptians.
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| 25 | And He took off their chariot wheels, so that they drove them with difficulty; and the Egyptians said, "Let us flee from the face of Israel, for the LORD fights for them against the Egyptians."
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| 26 | Then the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the waters may come back upon the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen."
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| 27 | And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and when the morning appeared, the sea returned to its full depth, while the Egyptians were fleeing into it. So the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
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| 28 | Then the waters returned and covered the chariots, the horsemen, and all the army of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them. Not so much as one of them remained.
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| 29 | But the children of Israel had walked on dry land in the midst of the sea, and the waters were a wall to them on their right hand and on their left.
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| 30 | So the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore.
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| 31 | Thus Israel saw the great work which the LORD had done in Egypt; so the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD and His servant Moses.
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Chapter 15
| 1 | Then Moses and the children of Israel sang this song to the LORD, and spoke, saying: "I will sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!
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Isaiah 48 : 1 - 6
Chapter 48
| 1 | "Hear this, O house of Jacob, Who are called by the name of Israel, And have come forth from the wellsprings of Judah; Who swear by the name of the LORD, And make mention of the God of Israel, But not in truth or in righteousness;
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| 2 | For they call themselves after the holy city, And lean on the God of Israel; The LORD of hosts is His name:
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| 3 | "I have declared the former things from the beginning; They went forth from My mouth, and I caused them to hear it. Suddenly I did them, and they came to pass.
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| 4 | Because I knew that you were obstinate, And your neck was an iron sinew, And your brow bronze,
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| 5 | Even from the beginning I have declared it to you; Before it came to pass I proclaimed it to you, Lest you should say, "My idol has done them, And my carved image and my molded image Have commanded them.'
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| 6 | "You have heard; See all this. And will you not declare it? I have made you hear new things from this time, Even hidden things, and you did not know them.
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Sirach 23 : 7 - 14
Chapter 23
| 7 | For from the merciful all these things shall be taken away, and they shall not wallow in sins.
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| 8 | Let not thy mouth be accustomed to indiscreet speech: for therein is the word of sin.
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| 9 | Remember thy father and thy mother, for thou sittest is the midst of great men:
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| 10 | Lest God forget thee in their sight, and thou, by thy daily custom, be infatuated and suffer reproach: and wish that thou hadst not been born, and curse the day of thy nativity.
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| 11 | The man that is accustomed to opprobrious words, will never be corrected all the days of his life.
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| 12 | Two sorts of men multiply sins, and the third bringeth wrath and destruction.
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| 13 | A hot soul is a burning fire, it will never be quenched, till it devour some thing.
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| 14 | And a man that is wicked in the mouth of his flesh, will not leave off till he hath kindled a fire.
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Psalms 83 : 2,5
Chapter 83
| 2 | For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head.
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| 5 | For they have consulted together with one consent; They form a confederacy against You:
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John 12 : 1 - 8
Chapter 12
| 1 | Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was who had been dead, whom He had raised from the dead.
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| 2 | There they made Him a supper; and Martha served, but Lazarus was one of those who sat at the table with Him.
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| 3 | Then Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
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| 4 | But one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said,
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| 5 | "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
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| 6 | This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it.
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| 7 | But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
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| 8 | For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
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The Ninth Hour of Wednesday :
Genesis 24 : 1 - 9
Chapter 24
| 1 | Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things.
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| 2 | So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, "Please, put your hand under my thigh,
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| 3 | and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell;
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| 4 | but you shall go to my country and to my family, and take a wife for my son Isaac."
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| 5 | And the servant said to him, "Perhaps the woman will not be willing to follow me to this land. Must I take your son back to the land from which you came?"
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| 6 | But Abraham said to him, "Beware that you do not take my son back there.
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| 7 | The LORD God of heaven, who took me from my father's house and from the land of my family, and who spoke to me and swore to me, saying, "To your descendants I give this land,' He will send His angel before you, and you shall take a wife for my son from there.
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| 8 | And if the woman is not willing to follow you, then you will be released from this oath; only do not take my son back there."
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| 9 | So the servant put his hand under the thigh of Abraham his master, and swore to him concerning this matter.
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Numbers 20 : 1 - 13
Chapter 20
| 1 | Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.
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| 2 | Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron.
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| 3 | And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: "If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
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| 4 | Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here?
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| 5 | And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink."
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| 6 | So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them.
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| 7 | Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
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| 8 | "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals."
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| 9 | So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him.
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| 10 | And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?"
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| 11 | Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.
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| 12 | Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them."
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| 13 | This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.
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Proverbs 1 : 10 - 23
Chapter 1
| 10 | My son, if sinners entice you, Do not consent.
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| 11 | If they say, "Come with us, Let us lie in wait to shed blood; Let us lurk secretly for the innocent without cause;
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| 12 | Let us swallow them alive like Sheol, And whole, like those who go down to the Pit;
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| 13 | We shall find all kinds of precious possessions, We shall fill our houses with spoil;
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| 14 | Cast in your lot among us, Let us all have one purse"--
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| 15 | My son, do not walk in the way with them, Keep your foot from their path;
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| 16 | For their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed blood.
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| 17 | Surely, in vain the net is spread In the sight of any bird;
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| 18 | But they lie in wait for their own blood, They lurk secretly for their own lives.
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| 19 | So are the ways of everyone who is greedy for gain; It takes away the life of its owners.
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| 20 | Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice in the open squares.
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| 21 | She cries out in the chief concourses, At the openings of the gates in the city She speaks her words:
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| 22 | "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, And fools hate knowledge.
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| 23 | Turn at my rebuke; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
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Isaiah 59 : 1 - 17
Chapter 59
| 1 | Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear.
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| 2 | But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
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| 3 | For your hands are defiled with blood, And your fingers with iniquity; Your lips have spoken lies, Your tongue has muttered perversity.
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| 4 | No one calls for justice, Nor does any plead for truth. They trust in empty words and speak lies; They conceive evil and bring forth iniquity.
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| 5 | They hatch vipers' eggs and weave the spider's web; He who eats of their eggs dies, And from that which is crushed a viper breaks out.
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| 6 | Their webs will not become garments, Nor will they cover themselves with their works; Their works are works of iniquity, And the act of violence is in their hands.
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| 7 | Their feet run to evil, And they make haste to shed innocent blood; Their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; Wasting and destruction are in their paths.
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| 8 | The way of peace they have not known, And there is no justice in their ways; They have made themselves crooked paths; Whoever takes that way shall not know peace.
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| 9 | Therefore justice is far from us, Nor does righteousness overtake us; We look for light, but there is darkness! For brightness, but we walk in blackness!
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| 10 | We grope for the wall like the blind, And we grope as if we had no eyes; We stumble at noonday as at twilight; We are as dead men in desolate places.
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| 11 | We all growl like bears, And moan sadly like doves; We look for justice, but there is none; For salvation, but it is far from us.
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| 12 | For our transgressions are multiplied before You, And our sins testify against us; For our transgressions are with us, And as for our iniquities, we know them:
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| 13 | In transgressing and lying against the LORD, And departing from our God, Speaking oppression and revolt, Conceiving and uttering from the heart words of falsehood.
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| 14 | Justice is turned back, And righteousness stands afar off; For truth is fallen in the street, And equity cannot enter.
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| 15 | So truth fails, And he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. Then the LORD saw it, and it displeased Him That there was no justice.
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| 16 | He saw that there was no man, And wondered that there was no intercessor; Therefore His own arm brought salvation for Him; And His own righteousness, it sustained Him.
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| 17 | For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, And a helmet of salvation on His head; He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, And was clad with zeal as a cloak.
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Zechariah 11 : 11 - 14
Chapter 11
| 11 | So it was broken on that day. Thus the poor of the flock, who were watching me, knew that it was the word of the LORD.
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| 12 | Then I said to them, "If it is agreeable to you, give me my wages; and if not, refrain." So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver.
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| 13 | And the LORD said to me, "Throw it to the potter"--that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the LORD for the potter.
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| 14 | Then I cut in two my other staff, Bonds, that I might break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.
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Psalms 41 : 5 - 6
Chapter 41
| 5 | My enemies speak evil of me: "When will he die, and his name perish?"
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| 6 | And if he comes to see me, he speaks lies; His heart gathers iniquity to itself; When he goes out, he tells it.
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Matthew 26 : 3 - 16
Chapter 26
| 3 | Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,
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| 4 | and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.
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| 5 | But they said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar among the people."
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| 6 | And when Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper,
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| 7 | a woman came to Him having an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil, and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table.
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| 8 | But when His disciples saw it, they were indignant, saying, "Why this waste?
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| 9 | For this fragrant oil might have been sold for much and given to the poor."
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| 10 | But when Jesus was aware of it, He said to them, "Why do you trouble the woman? For she has done a good work for Me.
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| 11 | For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.
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| 12 | For in pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she did it for My burial.
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| 13 | Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."
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| 14 | Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests
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| 15 | and said, "What are you willing to give me if I deliver Him to you?" And they counted out to him thirty pieces of silver.
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| 16 | So from that time he sought opportunity to betray Him.
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Eleventh hour of the day of Holy Wednesday
Isaiah 28 : 16 - 29
Chapter 28
| 16 | Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "Behold, I lay in Zion a stone for a foundation, A tried stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation; Whoever believes will not act hastily.
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| 17 | Also I will make justice the measuring line, And righteousness the plummet; The hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, And the waters will overflow the hiding place.
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| 18 | Your covenant with death will be annulled, And your agreement with Sheol will not stand; When the overflowing scourge passes through, Then you will be trampled down by it.
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| 19 | As often as it goes out it will take you; For morning by morning it will pass over, And by day and by night; It will be a terror just to understand the report."
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| 20 | For the bed is too short to stretch out on, And the covering so narrow that one cannot wrap himself in it.
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| 21 | For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon--That He may do His work, His awesome work, And bring to pass His act, His unusual act.
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| 22 | Now therefore, do not be mockers, Lest your bonds be made strong; For I have heard from the Lord GOD of hosts, A destruction determined even upon the whole earth.
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| 23 | Give ear and hear my voice, Listen and hear my speech.
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| 24 | Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil and breaking the clods?
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| 25 | When he has leveled its surface, Does he not sow the black cummin And scatter the cummin, Plant the wheat in rows, The barley in the appointed place, And the spelt in its place?
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| 26 | For He instructs him in right judgment, His God teaches him.
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| 27 | For the black cummin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cummin; But the black cummin is beaten out with a stick, And the cummin with a rod.
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| 28 | Bread flour must be ground; Therefore he does not thresh it forever, Break it with his cartwheel, Or crush it with his horsemen.
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| 29 | This also comes from the LORD of hosts, Who is wonderful in counsel and excellent in guidance.
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Psalms 6 : 2 - 69 : 17
Chapter 6
| 2 | Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am weak; O LORD, heal me, for my bones are troubled.
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| 3 | My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O LORD--how long?
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| 4 | Return, O LORD, deliver me! Oh, save me for Your mercies' sake!
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| 5 | For in death there is no remembrance of You; In the grave who will give You thanks?
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| 6 | I am weary with my groaning; All night I make my bed swim; I drench my couch with my tears.
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| 7 | My eye wastes away because of grief; It grows old because of all my enemies.
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| 8 | Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity; For the LORD has heard the voice of my weeping.
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| 9 | The LORD has heard my supplication; The LORD will receive my prayer.
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| 10 | Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled; Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.
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Chapter 69
| 1 | Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
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John 12 : 27 - 36
Chapter 12
| 27 | "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? "Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
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| 28 | Father, glorify Your name." Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again."
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| 29 | Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to Him."
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| 30 | Jesus answered and said, "This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.
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| 31 | Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
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| 32 | And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
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| 33 | This He said, signifying by what death He would die.
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| 34 | The people answered Him, "We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, "The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this Son of Man?"
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| 35 | Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going.
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| 36 | While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
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Thursday Night
Theme of the Hours : + Jesus is one with the Father.
First hour of the eve of Holy Thursday
Ezekiel 43 : 5 - 11
Chapter 43
| 5 | The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the LORD filled the temple.
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| 6 | Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while a man stood beside me.
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| 7 | And He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of My throne and the place of the soles of My feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their harlotry or with the carcasses of their kings on their high places.
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| 8 | When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger.
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| 9 | Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.
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| 10 | "Son of man, describe the temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.
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| 11 | And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and perform them.
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Psalms 69 : 1,16
Chapter 69
| 1 | Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck.
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| 16 | Hear me, O LORD, for Your lovingkindness is good; Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
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John 10 : 17 - 21
Chapter 10
| 17 | "Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
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| 18 | No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father."
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| 19 | Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings.
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| 20 | And many of them said, "He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?"
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| 21 | Others said, "These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?"
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Third hour of the eve of Holy Thursday
Amos 4 : 4 - 13
Chapter 4
| 4 | "Come to Bethel and transgress, At Gilgal multiply transgression; Bring your sacrifices every morning, Your tithes every three days.
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| 5 | Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, Proclaim and announce the freewill offerings; For this you love, You children of Israel!" Says the Lord GOD.
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| 6 | "Also I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities. And lack of bread in all your places; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
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| 7 | "I also withheld rain from you, When there were still three months to the harvest. I made it rain on one city, I withheld rain from another city. One part was rained upon, And where it did not rain the part withered.
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| 8 | So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water, But they were not satisfied; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
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| 9 | "I blasted you with blight and mildew. When your gardens increased, Your vineyards, Your fig trees, And your olive trees, The locust devoured them; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
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| 10 | "I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt; Your young men I killed with a sword, Along with your captive horses; I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
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| 11 | "I overthrew some of you, As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; Yet you have not returned to Me," Says the LORD.
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| 12 | "Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!"
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| 13 | For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth--The LORD God of hosts is His name.
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Psalms 55 : 21,1
Chapter 55
| 21 | The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But war was in his heart; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.
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| 1 | Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.
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Mark 14 : 3 - 11
Chapter 14
| 3 | And being in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, as He sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster flask of very costly oil of spikenard. Then she broke the flask and poured it on His head.
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| 4 | But there were some who were indignant among themselves, and said, "Why was this fragrant oil wasted?
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| 5 | For it might have been sold for more than three hundred denarii and given to the poor." And they criticized her sharply.
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| 6 | But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for Me.
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| 7 | For you have the poor with you always, and whenever you wish you may do them good; but Me you do not have always.
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| 8 | She has done what she could. She has come beforehand to anoint My body for burial.
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| 9 | Assuredly, I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told as a memorial to her."
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| 10 | Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them.
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| 11 | And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him.
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Sixth hour of the eve of Holy Thursday
Amos 3 : 1 - 11
Chapter 3
| 1 | Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
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| 2 | "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities."
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| 3 | Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
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| 4 | Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
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| 5 | Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
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| 6 | If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it?
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| 7 | Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
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| 8 | A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?
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| 9 | "Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: "Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; See great tumults in her midst, And the oppressed within her.
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| 10 | For they do not know to do right,' Says the LORD, "Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces."'
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| 11 | Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, And your palaces shall be plundered."
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Psalms 140 : 1 - 2
Chapter 140
| 1 | Deliver me, O LORD, from evil men; Preserve me from violent men,
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| 2 | Who plan evil things in their hearts; They continually gather together for war.
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John 12 : 36 - 43
Chapter 12
| 36 | While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light." These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
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| 37 | But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
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| 38 | that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"
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| 39 | Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
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| 40 | "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."
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| 41 | These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
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| 42 | Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
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| 43 | for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
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Ninth hour of the eve of Holy Thursday
Ezekiel 20 : 27 - 33
Chapter 20
| 27 | "Therefore, son of man, speak to the house of Israel, and say to them, "Thus says the Lord GOD: "In this too your fathers have blasphemed Me, by being unfaithful to Me.
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| 28 | When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings.
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| 29 | Then I said to them, "What is this high place to which you go?' So its name is called Bamah to this day."'
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| 30 | Therefore say to the house of Israel, "Thus says the Lord GOD: "Are you defiling yourselves in the manner of your fathers, and committing harlotry according to their abominations?
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| 31 | For when you offer your gifts and make your sons pass through the fire, you defile yourselves with all your idols, even to this day. So shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live," says the Lord GOD, "I will not be inquired of by you.
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| 32 | What you have in your mind shall never be, when you say, "We will be like the Gentiles, like the families in other countries, serving wood and stone.'
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| 33 | "As I live," says the Lord GOD, "surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you.
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Psalms 7 : 1 - 2
Chapter 7
| 1 | O LORD my God, in You I put my trust; Save me from all those who persecute me; And deliver me,
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| 2 | Lest they tear me like a lion, Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
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John 10 : 29 - 38
Chapter 10
| 29 | My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
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| 30 | I and My Father are one."
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| 31 | Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
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| 32 | Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?"
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| 33 | The Jews answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."
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| 34 | Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, "I said, "You are gods"'?
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| 35 | If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken),
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| 36 | do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, "You are blaspheming,' because I said, "I am the Son of God'?
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| 37 | If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;
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| 38 | but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and I in Him."
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Eleventh hour of the eve of Holy Thursday
Jeremiah 8 : 4 - 10
Chapter 8
| 4 | "Moreover you shall say to them, "Thus says the LORD: "Will they fall and not rise? Will one turn away and not return?
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| 5 | Why has this people slidden back, Jerusalem, in a perpetual backsliding? They hold fast to deceit, They refuse to return.
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| 6 | I listened and heard, But they do not speak aright. No man repented of his wickedness, Saying, "What have I done?' Everyone turned to his own course, As the horse rushes into the battle.
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| 7 | "Even the stork in the heavens Knows her appointed times; And the turtledove, the swift, and the swallow Observe the time of their coming. But My people do not know the judgment of the LORD.
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| 8 | "How can you say, "We are wise, And the law of the LORD is with us'? Look, the false pen of the scribe certainly works falsehood.
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| 9 | The wise men are ashamed, They are dismayed and taken. Behold, they have rejected the word of the LORD; So what wisdom do they have?
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| 10 | Therefore I will give their wives to others, And their fields to those who will inherit them; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is given to covetousness; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals falsely.
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Psalms 62 : 7,6
Chapter 62
| 7 | In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.
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| 6 | He only is my rock and my salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved.
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John 12 : 44 - 50
Chapter 12
| 44 | Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
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| 45 | And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
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| 46 | I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
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| 47 | And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
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| 48 | He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
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| 49 | For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
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| 50 | And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."
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Not to be read in the Church during this time of the year.
Synaxarium
Day 12 of the Blessed Coptic Month of Baramoudah, may God make it always received, year after year, with reassurance and tranquility, while our sins after forgiven by the tender mercies of our God my fathers and brothers.
Amen.
The Twelfth Day of the Blessed Month of Baramoudah
Departure of St.Alexander, Bishop of
Jerusalem
On this day, the holy father Anba Alexander,
Bishop of Jerusalem, departed. This holy father was Bishop of Cappadocia,
and he came to the city of Jerusalem to receive the blessing of the holy
places and then return to his country. St. Narcissus, who was the Bishop
of Jerusalem at that time (Second century - his departure on the first
day of Baramhat), was advanced in age and had reached over 110 years. He
often asked his people that he wished to retire from his See, but they
refused. When St. Alexander finished his visit and decided to return to
his Chair in Cappadocia, the people of Jerusalem heard a voice from heaven
saying: "Go to the gate of the city, and the first one to enter it, seize
him and make him stay with Narcissus to assist him." When they went to
the gate they met the Bishop Alexander, and they pleaded with him to stay
with Abba Narcissus to assist him. He refused because he could not leave
his flock that the Lord Christ had entrusted him with. They told him about
the voice which they had heard from heaven and that it was God's Will.
He accepted and wrote to the people of his parish what had happened, apologized,
and allowed them to appoint another bishop in his place. He remained in
Jerusalem, assisting its bishop Anba Narcissus, for about 5 years.
After the departure of St. Narcissus, he continued
to shepherd the people of Jerusalem with the best of care, until Maximianus,
the infidel, seized him, inflicted him with severe tortures of every kind,
and then imprisoned him. When Gordianus reigned, he released him, and when
he died and Philip reigned, he released the rest of the confessors. This
father sat in quietness and peace until Decius rose, killed Philip, and
reigned in his stead. Decius afflicted the Christians exceedingly; he seized
this holy father and many others, and tortured them, especially this father.
He beat him cruelly with sharp pins until he broke his ribs, then commanded
to drag him by his feet and throw him in prison. He remained there until
he delivered his pure soul in the hand of the Lord, and received the kingdom
which is prepared for the saints.
May His prayers be with us. Amen.
Commemoration of St.Antonios, Bishop
of Tamoui
This day also marks the commemoration
of St. Antonios, Bishop of Tamoui.
May His prayers be with us and Glory be to our God forever. Amen.
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Acknowledgement
Opening page