LAMENTATIONS 3

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Great Is Your Faithfulness3:1

I am the man who has seen affliction

under the rod of his wrath; 2

he has driven and brought me

into darkness without any light; 3

surely against me he turns his hand

again and again the whole day long.
4

He has made my flesh and my skin waste away;

he has broken my bones; 5

he has besieged and enveloped me

with bitterness and tribulation; 6

he has made me dwell in darkness

like the dead of long ago.
7

He has walled me about so that I cannot escape;

he has made my chains heavy; 8

though I call and cry for help,

he shuts out my prayer; 9

he has blocked my ways with blocks of stones;

he has made my paths crooked.
10

He is a bear lying in wait for me,

a lion in hiding; 11

he turned aside my steps and tore me to pieces;

he has made me desolate; 12

he bent his bow and set me

as a target for his arrow.
13

He drove into my kidneys

the arrows of his quiver; 14

I have become the laughingstock of all peoples,

the object of their taunts all day long. 15

He has filled me with bitterness;

he has sated me with wormwood.
16

He has made my teeth grind on gravel,

and made me cower in ashes; 17

my soul is bereft of peace;

I have forgotten what happiness is; 18

so I say, “My endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the Lord.”
19

Remember my affliction and my wanderings,

the wormwood and the gall! 20

My soul continually remembers it

and is bowed down within me. 21

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:
22

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end; 23

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness. 24

“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

“therefore I will hope in him.”
25

The Lord is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him. 26

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord. 27

It is good for a man that he bear

the yoke in his youth.
28

Let him sit alone in silence

when it is laid on him; 29

let him put his mouth in the dust—

there may yet be hope; 30

let him give his cheek to the one who strikes,

and let him be filled with insults.
31

For the Lord will not

cast off forever, 32

but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion

according to the abundance of his steadfast love; 33

for he does not afflict from his heart

or grieve the children of men.
34

To crush underfoot

all the prisoners of the earth, 35

to deny a man justice

in the presence of the Most High, 36

to subvert a man in his lawsuit,

the Lord does not approve.
37

Who has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has commanded it? 38

Is it not from the mouth of the Most High

that good and bad come? 39

Why should a living man complain,

a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40

Let us test and examine our ways,

and return to the Lord! 41

Let us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven: 42

“We have transgressed and rebelled,

and you have not forgiven.
43

“You have wrapped yourself with anger and pursued us,

killing without pity; 44

you have wrapped yourself with a cloud

so that no prayer can pass through. 45

You have made us scum and garbage

among the peoples.
46

“All our enemies

open their mouths against us; 47

panic and pitfall have come upon us,

devastation and destruction; 48

my eyes flow with rivers of tears

because of the destruction of the daughter of my people.
49

“My eyes will flow without ceasing,

without respite, 50

until the Lord from heaven

looks down and sees; 51

my eyes cause me grief

at the fate of all the daughters of my city.
52

“I have been hunted like a bird

by those who were my enemies without cause; 53

they flung me alive into the pit

and cast stones on me; 54

water closed over my head;

I said, ‘I am lost.’
55

“I called on your name, O Lord,

from the depths of the pit; 56

you heard my plea, ‘Do not close

your ear to my cry for help!’ 57

You came near when I called on you;

you said, ‘Do not fear!’
58

“You have taken up my cause, O Lord;

you have redeemed my life. 59

You have seen the wrong done to me, O Lord;

judge my cause. 60

You have seen all their vengeance,

all their plots against me.
61

“You have heard their taunts, O Lord,

all their plots against me. 62

The lips and thoughts of my assailants

are against me all the day long. 63

Behold their sitting and their rising;

I am the object of their taunts.
64

“You will repay them, O Lord,

according to the work of their hands. 65

You will give them dullness of heart;

your curse will be on them. 66

You will pursue them in anger and destroy them

from under your heavens, O Lord.”

LAMENTATIONS 4

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The Holy Stones Lie Scattered4:1

How the gold has grown dim,

how the pure gold is changed!

The holy stones lie scattered

at the head of every street.
2

The precious sons of Zion,

worth their weight in fine gold,

how they are regarded as earthen pots,

the work of a potter’s hands!
3

Even jackals offer the breast;

they nurse their young;

but the daughter of my people has become cruel,

like the ostriches in the wilderness.
4

The tongue of the nursing infant sticks

to the roof of its mouth for thirst;

the children beg for food,

but no one gives to them.
5

Those who once feasted on delicacies

perish in the streets;

those who were brought up in purple

embrace ash heaps.
6

For the chastisement of the daughter of my people has been greater

than the punishment of Sodom,

which was overthrown in a moment,

and no hands were wrung for her.
7

Her princes were purer than snow,

whiter than milk;

their bodies were more ruddy than coral,

the beauty of their form was like sapphire.
8

Now their face is blacker than soot;

they are not recognized in the streets;

their skin has shriveled on their bones;

it has become as dry as wood.
9

Happier were the victims of the sword

than the victims of hunger,

who wasted away, pierced

by lack of the fruits of the field.
10

The hands of compassionate women

have boiled their own children;

they became their food

during the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11

The Lord gave full vent to his wrath;

he poured out his hot anger,

and he kindled a fire in Zion

that consumed its foundations.
12

The kings of the earth did not believe,

nor any of the inhabitants of the world,

that foe or enemy could enter

the gates of Jerusalem.
13

This was for the sins of her prophets

and the iniquities of her priests,

who shed in the midst of her

the blood of the righteous.
14

They wandered, blind, through the streets;

they were so defiled with blood

that no one was able to touch

their garments.
15

“Away! Unclean!” people cried at them.

“Away! Away! Do not touch!”

So they became fugitives and wanderers;

people said among the nations,

“They shall stay with us no longer.”
16

The Lord himself has scattered them;

he will regard them no more;

no honor was shown to the priests,

no favor to the elders.
17

Our eyes failed, ever watching

vainly for help;

in our watching we watched

for a nation which could not save.
18

They dogged our steps

so that we could not walk in our streets;

our end drew near; our days were numbered,

for our end had come.
19

Our pursuers were swifter

than the eagles in the heavens;

they chased us on the mountains;

they lay in wait for us in the wilderness.
20

The breath of our nostrils, the Lord’s anointed,

was captured in their pits,

of whom we said, “Under his shadow

we shall live among the nations.”
21

Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,

you who dwell in the land of Uz;

but to you also the cup shall pass;

you shall become drunk and strip yourself bare.
22

The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished;

he will keep you in exile no longer;

but your iniquity, O daughter of Edom, he will punish;

he will uncover your sins.

PROVERBS 31

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The Words of King Lemuel  31:1 The words of King Lemuel. An oracle that his mother taught him:
2

What are you doing, my son? What are you doing, son of my womb?

What are you doing, son of my vows? 3

Do not give your strength to women,

your ways to those who destroy kings. 4

It is not for kings, O Lemuel,

it is not for kings to drink wine,

or for rulers to take strong drink, 5

lest they drink and forget what has been decreed

and pervert the rights of all the afflicted. 6

Give strong drink to the one who is perishing,

and wine to those in bitter distress; 7

let them drink and forget their poverty

and remember their misery no more. 8

Open your mouth for the mute,

for the rights of all who are destitute. 9

Open your mouth, judge righteously,

defend the rights of the poor and needy. The Woman Who Fears the Lord10

An excellent wife who can find?

She is far more precious than jewels. 11

The heart of her husband trusts in her,

and he will have no lack of gain. 12

She does him good, and not harm,

all the days of her life. 13

She seeks wool and flax,

and works with willing hands. 14

She is like the ships of the merchant;

she brings her food from afar. 15

She rises while it is yet night

and provides food for her household

and portions for her maidens. 16

She considers a field and buys it;

with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 17

She dresses herself with strength

and makes her arms strong. 18

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.

Her lamp does not go out at night. 19

She puts her hands to the distaff,

and her hands hold the spindle. 20

She opens her hand to the poor

and reaches out her hands to the needy. 21

She is not afraid of snow for her household,

for all her household are clothed in scarlet. 22

She makes bed coverings for herself;

her clothing is fine linen and purple. 23

Her husband is known in the gates

when he sits among the elders of the land. 24

She makes linen garments and sells them;

she delivers sashes to the merchant. 25

Strength and dignity are her clothing,

and she laughs at the time to come. 26

She opens her mouth with wisdom,

and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. 27

She looks well to the ways of her household

and does not eat the bread of idleness. 28

Her children rise up and call her blessed;

her husband also, and he praises her: 29

“Many women have done excellently,

but you surpass them all.” 30

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31

Give her of the fruit of her hands,

and let her works praise her in the gates.

JOHN 2

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The Wedding at Cana  2:1 On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples. 3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
    6 Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it. 9 When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.
    12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days. Jesus Cleanses the Temple13 The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father’s house a house of trade.” 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
    18 So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” 19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” 20 The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” 21 But he was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken. Jesus Knows What Is in Man23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. 24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people 25 and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man.