Zechariah 8
The Future Restoration of Israel
1 And the word of the Lord Almighty came, saying,†
2 “Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘I have been zealous for Jerusalem and for Zion, zealous for her with great zeal and fervor.’
3 Thus says the Lord: ‘I will return to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called a True City, and the Mountain of the Lord Almighty the Holy Mountain.’†
4 “Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Elderly men and elderly women shall yet sit in the streets of Jerusalem, each one holding his cane in his hand for the multitude of their days.†
5 And the streets will be filled with boys and girls dancing in her streets.’
6 Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘If it is impossible in the sight of the remnant of this people in those days, will it also be impossible in My sight?’ says the Lord Almighty.†
7 Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Behold, I shall deliver My people from the land of the east and from the land of the west.
8 I shall bring them in and settle them in the midst of Jerusalem. They shall be to Me a people and I will be to them a God in truth and in righteousness.’
9 “Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Let your hands be strong, you who hear in these days these words from the mouth of the prophets, from the day that the house of the Lord Almighty was founded, and from the time the temple was built.†
10 For before those days, men’s wages will not be profitable and a price for livestock will not even exist, and because of affliction there will be no peace for those going out and those coming in, and I will send forth all men, each against his neighbor.
11 But now I do not do to the remnant of this people as in the former days,’ says the Lord Almighty.†
12 ‘Rather I will show forth peace, for the vine shall give its fruit, the earth her produce, the heaven its dew, and I will give all these things as an inheritance to the remnant of this people.
13 And it shall come to pass that as you were a curse among the nations, O house of Judah and house of Israel, so I will save you, and you will be for a blessing; be of good courage and strengthen your hands.’
14 “For thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘As I purposed to afflict you when your fathers provoked Me to anger,’ says the Lord Almighty, ‘and I did not relent,
15 so now in these days I have prepared and purposed to do good to Jerusalem and to the house of Judah; be of good courage.
16 These are the things you shall do: speak the truth, each man to his neighbor, and judge with peaceful judgment in your gates,†
17 and let none of you plan evil in his heart against his neighbor, and do not love a false oath, for all these things I hate,’ says the Lord Almighty.”
18 And the word of the Lord Almighty came to me, saying,
19 “Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘The fourth-month fast, and the fifth-month fast, and the seventh-month fast, and the tenth-month fast shall be for joy and gladness and in good feasts to the house of Judah. And you will rejoice, and you will love truth and peace.’†
20 Thus says the Lord Almighty: ‘Yet many people will have come and those inhabiting many cities;
21 and the inhabitants of five cities will come together to one city, saying, “Let us go to beseech the Lord and to seek out the face of the Lord Almighty; and I will go also.”
22 And many peoples and many nations will come to seek out the presence of the Lord Almighty in Jerusalem and to obtain the favor of the presence of the Lord.’
23 Thus says the Lord Almighty, ‘In those days, if ten men from all the tongues of the nations stop you, even if they grab hold of the hem of a Jewish man, they will be saying, “We will go with you, for we heard God is with you.” ’ ”†
Psalms 54
13 For if an enemy reviled me, I would have endured it; And if one hating me boasted against me, I would have hidden from him.
14 But it was you, a man my equal, My guide and my friend,
15 Who together with me sweetened our meals; In God’s house we walked in unity.
16 Let death come upon them, And let them go down alive into Hades; Because evils are in their dwellings, in the very midst of them.
17 But I cried out to God, And the Lord heard me.
18 Evening and morning and midday, I shall tell; I shall proclaim, and He will hear my voice.
19 He will redeem my soul in peace from those who draw near to me, For they were with me in abundance.
20 God shall hear, and humble them, He who exists before the ages. (Pause) For there is no change in them, And they have not feared God.
21 He stretched forth His hand in punishment; They defiled His covenant.
22 They were scattered by the wrath of His face, And His heart drew near; His words were softened above oil, And they are arrows.
23 Cast your care upon the Lord, And He shall support you; He will never allow the righteous to be moved.
24 But You, O God, will bring them down into the pit of decay; Men of blood and deceit Shall not live even half their days. But I will hope in You, O Lord.
Proverbs of Solomon 11
16 A merciful man does good to his soul, But an unmerciful man utterly destroys his body.
17 An ungodly man does unrighteous works, But the seed of the righteous is a reward of truth.†
18 A righteous son is begotten unto life, But the persecution of an ungodly man is unto death.
19 Perverse ways are an abomination to the Lord, But all who are blameless in their ways are acceptable to Him.
20 He who joins hands with the unrighteous will not go unpunished, But he who sows righteousness will receive a faithful reward.
1 Corinthians 11
Unity at the Eucharist
17 Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse.†
18 For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and in part I believe it.
19 For there must also be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you.
20 Therefore when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord’s Supper.†
21 For in eating, each one takes his own supper ahead of others; and one is hungry and another is drunk.
22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you.
23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;†
24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”
25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.
27 Therefore whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.†
28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.†
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body.†
30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged.†
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
33 Therefore, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.†
34 But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment. And the rest I will set in order when I come.