Day 264 reading

Wisdom·Psalm 148:1–12

¹Hallelujah! Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the highest places. ²Praise Him, all His angels; praise Him, all His heavenly hosts. ³Praise Him, O sun and moon; praise Him, all you shining stars. ⁴Praise Him, O highest heavens, and you waters above the skies. ⁵Let them praise the name of the LORD, for He gave the command and they were created. ⁶He established them forever and ever; He issued a decree that will never pass away. ⁷Praise the LORD from the earth, all great sea creatures and ocean depths, ⁸lightning and hail, snow and clouds, powerful wind fulfilling His word, ⁹mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, ¹⁰wild animals and all cattle, crawling creatures and flying birds, ¹¹kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers of the earth, ¹²young men and maidens, old and young together.

New Testament·2 Corinthians 5

¹Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. ²For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, ³because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. ⁴So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life. ⁵And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come. ⁶Therefore we are always confident, although we know that while we are at home in the body, we are away from the Lord. ⁷For we walk by faith, not by sight. ⁸We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. ⁹So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. ¹⁰For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. ¹¹Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well. ¹²We are not commending ourselves to you again. Instead, we are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you can answer those who take pride in appearances rather than in the heart. ¹³If we are out of our mind, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. ¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that One died for all, therefore all died. ¹⁵And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again. ¹⁶So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! ¹⁸All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men’s trespasses against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. ²¹God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.

Old Testament·Song of Solomon 6–8; Isaiah 1

¹Where has your beloved gone, O most beautiful among women? Which way has he turned? We will seek him with you. ²My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies. ³I belong to my beloved and he belongs to me; he pastures his flock among the lilies. ⁴You are as beautiful, my darling, as Tirzah, as lovely as Jerusalem, as majestic as troops with banners. ⁵Turn your eyes away from me, for they have overcome me. Your hair is like a flock of goats streaming down from Gilead. ⁶Your teeth are like a flock of sheep coming up from the washing; each has its twin, and not one of them is lost. ⁷Your brow behind your veil is like a slice of pomegranate. ⁸There are sixty queens and eighty concubines, and maidens without number, ⁹but my dove, my perfect one, is unique, the favorite of the mother who bore her. The maidens see her and call her blessed; the queens and concubines sing her praises. ¹⁰Who is this who shines like the dawn, as fair as the moon, as bright as the sun, as majestic as the stars in procession? ¹¹I went down to the walnut grove to see the blossoms of the valley, to see if the vines were budding or the pomegranates were in bloom. ¹²Before I realized it, my desire had set me among the royal chariots of my people. ¹³Come back, come back, O Shulammite! Come back, come back, that we may gaze upon you. ¹⁴(13) Why do you look at the Shulammite, as on the dance of Mahanaim?

7How beautiful are your sandaled feet, O daughter of the prince! The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master. ²Your navel is a rounded goblet; it never lacks blended wine. Your waist is a mound of wheat encircled by the lilies. ³Your breasts are like two fawns, twins of a gazelle. ⁴Your neck is like a tower made of ivory; your eyes are like the pools of Heshbon by the gate of Bath-rabbim; your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, facing toward Damascus. ⁵Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, the hair of your head like purple threads; the king is captured in your tresses. ⁶How fair and pleasant you are, O love, with your delights! ⁷Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit. ⁸I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, ⁹and your mouth like the finest wine. ¹⁰(9) May it flow smoothly to my beloved, gliding gently over lips and teeth. (10) I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me. ¹¹Come, my beloved, let us go to the countryside; let us spend the night among the wildflowers. ¹²Let us go early to the vineyards to see if the vine has budded, if the blossom has opened, if the pomegranates are in bloom— there I will give you my love. ¹³The mandrakes send forth a fragrance, and at our door is every delicacy, new as well as old, that I have treasured up for you, my beloved.

8O that you were to me like a brother who nursed at my mother’s breasts! If I found you outdoors, I would kiss you, and no one would despise me. ²I would lead you and bring you to the house of my mother who taught me. I would give you spiced wine to drink, the nectar of my pomegranates. ³His left hand is under my head, and his right arm embraces me. ⁴O daughters of Jerusalem, I adjure you: Do not arouse or awaken love until the time is right. ⁵Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? ⁶(5) I roused you under the apple tree; there your mother conceived you; there she travailed and brought you forth. (6) Set me as a seal over your heart, as a seal upon your arm. For love is as strong as death, its jealousy as unrelenting as Sheol. Its sparks are fiery flames, the fiercest blaze of all. ⁷Mighty waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If a man were to give all the wealth of his house for love, his offer would be utterly scorned. ⁸We have a little sister, and her breasts are not yet grown. What shall we do for our sister on the day she is spoken for? ⁹If she is a wall, we will build a tower of silver to protect her. If she is a door, we will enclose her with panels of cedar. ¹⁰I am a wall, and my breasts are like towers. So I have become in his eyes like one who brings peace. ¹¹Solomon had a vineyard in Baal-hamon. He leased it to the tenants. For its fruit, each was to bring a thousand shekels of silver. ¹²But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, O Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit. ¹³You who dwell in the gardens, my companions are listening for your voice. Let me hear it! ¹⁴Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

1This is the vision concerning Judah and Jerusalem that Isaiah son of Amoz saw during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. ²Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. ³The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.” ⁴Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children of depravity! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. ⁵Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted. ⁶From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil. ⁷Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you— a desolation demolished by strangers. ⁸And the Daughter of Zion is abandoned like a shelter in a vineyard, like a shack in a cucumber field, like a city besieged. ⁹Unless the LORD of Hosts had left us a few survivors, we would have become like Sodom, we would have resembled Gomorrah. ¹⁰Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah! ¹¹“What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats. ¹²When you come to appear before Me, who has required this of you— this trampling of My courts? ¹³Bring your worthless offerings no more; your incense is detestable to Me— your New Moons, Sabbaths, and convocations. I cannot endure iniquity in a solemn assembly. ¹⁴I hate your New Moons and your appointed feasts. They have become a burden to Me; I am weary of bearing them. ¹⁵When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. ¹⁶Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil! ¹⁷Learn to do right; seek justice and correct the oppressor. Defend the fatherless and plead the case of the widow.” ¹⁸“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are as red as crimson, they will become like wool. ¹⁹If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best of the land. ²⁰But if you resist and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword.” For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. ²¹See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers! ²²Your silver has become dross; your fine wine is diluted with water. ²³Your rulers are rebels, friends of thieves. They all love bribes and chasing after rewards. They do not defend the fatherless, and the plea of the widow never comes before them. ²⁴Therefore the Lord GOD of Hosts, the Mighty One of Israel, declares: “Ah, I will be relieved of My foes and avenge Myself on My enemies. ²⁵I will turn My hand against you; I will thoroughly purge your dross; I will remove all your impurities. ²⁶I will restore your judges as at first, and your counselors as at the beginning. After that you will be called the City of Righteousness, the Faithful City.” ²⁷Zion will be redeemed with justice, her repentant ones with righteousness. ²⁸But rebels and sinners will together be shattered, and those who forsake the LORD will perish. ²⁹Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen. ³⁰For you will become like an oak whose leaves are withered, like a garden without water. ³¹The strong man will become tinder and his work will be a spark; both will burn together, with no one to quench the flames.