Genesis 38
Judah and Tamar
1 It came to pass at that time that Judah departed from his brothers, and visited a certain Adullamite whose name was Hirah.
2 Then Judah saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was Shua, and he married her and went in to her.
3 So she conceived and bore a son, and called his name Er.
4 She conceived again and bore a son, and called his name Onan.
5 She conceived yet again and bore a son, and called his name Shelah. She was at Chezib when she bore them.
6 Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.
7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was evil in the sight of the Lord, and God killed him.
8 So Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and as her brother-in-law raise up seed to your brother.”
9 But Onan knew the seed would not be his; and it came to pass that whenever he went in to his brother’s wife, he emitted his semen on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother.
10 But the thing he did appeared evil in the sight of the Lord; therefore, He also put him to death.
11 Then Judah said to Tamar his daughter-in-law, “Remain a widow in your father’s house till my son Shelah is grown.” For he said, “Lest he also die like his brothers.” So Tamar went and dwelt in her father’s house.
12 Now in the process of time, the daughter of Shua, Judah’s wife, died; and Judah was comforted and went up to his sheepshearers at Timnah, he and his shepherd, Hirah the Adullamite.
13 So it was told Tamar, saying, “Look, your father-in-law is going up to Timnah to shear his sheep.”
14 Thus she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil, made herself beautiful, and sat down near the gates of Ainan on the way past Timnah; for she saw Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife.
15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, because she had covered her face and he did not recognize her.
16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Let me come in to you”; for he did not know she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”
17 He replied, “I will send a young goat from the flocks.” So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?”
18 Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your ring and cord, and the staff in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him.
19 So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
20 Thus Judah sent the young goat by the hand of his shepherd the Adullamite to receive his pledge from the woman, but he did not find her.
21 Then he asked the men of that place, saying, “Where is the prostitute who was in Ainan by the roadside?” They replied, “There was no prostitute here.”
22 So he returned to Judah and said, “I cannot find her. Also, the men of the place said no prostitute had been there.”
23 Then Judah said, “Let her have them, lest we should become a laughingstock; for I sent this young goat but you did not find her.”
24 Thus it came to pass, about three months after, that Judah was told, saying, “Tamar your daughter-in-law has committed fornication and is pregnant because of her adultery.” So Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned.”†
25 When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” So she said, “Determine whose these are—the ring, the cord, and the staff.”
26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” But he never knew her again.
27 Then it came to pass, at the time for giving birth, that behold, twins were in her womb.
28 So it was, when she was giving birth, that the one put out his hand; and the midwife took a scarlet thread and bound it on his hand, saying, “This one came out first.”
29 Then it happened, as he drew back his hand, that his brother came out unexpectedly; and she said, “How did you break through? This breach be upon you.” Therefore she called his name Perez.
30 Afterward his brother came out, with the scarlet thread on his hand; and she called his name Zerah.
Psalms 35
1 For the End; by David, the servant of the Lord. †
2 The transgressor, so as to sin, says within himself, “There is no fear of God before his eyes”;
3 For he acts deceitfully before Him, Lest He discover his lawlessness and hate it.
4 The words of his mouth are lawlessness and deceit; He is unwilling to understand how to do good;
5 He devises lawlessness on his bed; He sets himself in every way not good, And he does not abhor evil.
6 O Lord, Your mercy is in heaven, And Your truth reaches to the clouds;
7 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are a great deep; Men and cattle You will save, O Lord.
8 How You multiply Your mercy, O God! The sons of men shall hope under the shelter of Your wings.
9 They shall be intoxicated with the fatness of Your house, And You will give them drink from the abundant water of Your delight.
10 For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we shall see light.
11 Extend Your mercy to those who know You, And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
12 Let not the foot of arrogance come against me, And may the hand of sinners not shake me.
13 Those who work lawlessness fall there; They are cast out, and unable to stand.
Proverbs of Solomon 7
13 Then laying hold of him, she kisses him, And with a shameless face she says to him,
14 “I have a peace offering; Today I pay my vows;
15 For this reason I came out to meet you; Longing for your face, I found you;
16 I spread my bed with sheets And covered it with tapestry from Egypt.
17 I sprinkled my bed with saffron And my house with cinnamon;
18 Come, and let us enjoy love until morning; Come, and let us embrace in love;
19 For my husband is not at home, But is gone on a long journey
20 Taking a bag of money in his hand; He will return to his house after many days.”
Matthew 24
Destruction of the Temple
1 Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple.†
2 And Jesus said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
The Beginning of Birth Pangs
3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”†
4 And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.†
5 For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many.
6 And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.†
7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake.
10 And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.
11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many.
12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.
13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.
14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.†
The Great Tribulation
15 “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand),†
16 “then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
17 Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house.
18 And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.
19 But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days!†
20 And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.†
21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it.
24 For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.
25 See, I have told you beforehand.
26 “Therefore if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, He is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it.
27 For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.†
28 For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.†