Lamentations 4
1 “How will gold lose its brightness
And fine silver become tarnished?
The stones of the sanctuary are scattered
At the head of every street.
2 “The honored sons of Zion,
Valuable as gold,
How are they now regarded as clay pots,
The works of a potter’s hands?
3 “Even the serpents uncover their breasts
To nurse their young;
But the daughters of my people are cruel,
Like an ostrich in the desert.
4 “The tongue of the nursing child cleaves
To the roof of its mouth for thirst.
The young children beg for bread,
But no one breaks it for them.
5 “Those who ate delicacies
Perish in the streets;
Those brought up on the best food
Are clothed with dung.
6 “The lawlessness of the daughter of My people
Is greater than the lawlessness of Sodom,
Which was overthrown in a moment,
And there was no one to help her.
7 “Her Nazirites were purer than snow;
They shone more brightly than milk;
They were purified as with fire;
Their polishing was superior to sapphire stones.
8 “Now their appearance is blacker than soot;
They go unrecognized in the streets;
Their skin clings to their bones;
It is withered and has become as dry as wood.
9 “Those slain by the sword are better off
Than those who die of hunger,
Deprived of the fruits of the field.
10 “The hands of compassionate women
Cooked their children;
They became food for them
In the destruction of the daughter of my people.
11 “The Lord has fulfilled His anger;
He has poured out His fierce wrath.
He has kindled a fire in Zion,
And it devoured her foundations.
12 “The kings of the earth
And all inhabitants in the world
Would not believe
That the enemy and oppressor
Could enter through the gates of Jerusalem.
13 “For the sins of her prophets
And the lawlessness of her priests,
Who shed righteous blood in her midst,
14 “Her watchmen wandered in the streets.
They were defiled with blood in their weakness
And stained their garments with it.
15 “Depart from the unclean.
Call to them, ‘Depart! Depart!
Do not touch us!’
For they are set on fire and indeed wander.
Say among the Gentiles,
‘Let them not live here.’
16 “Their portion shall not continue
To enjoy the Lord’s presence,
When He looked upon them with favor.
For they did not respect the person of the priests,
Nor did they show mercy to the elders.
17 “While we yet lived,
Our eyes failed us
As we looked in vain for help.
We kept watching intently
For a nation that could not save us.
18 “We hunted for our little ones
So they would not walk in our streets.
Our appointed time is near,
Our days are fulfilled;
Our time is come.
19 “Our pursuers were swifter
Than the eagles of the sky.
They perched on the mountains
And lay in wait for us in the desert.
20 “The breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of the Lord,
Was seized in their corruption,
Of whom we said, ‘Under His shadow
We shall live among the nations.’
21 “Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom,
Who dwell in the land.
For indeed the cup of the Lord shall pass through to you,
And you shall become drunk and be poured out.
22 “O daughter of Zion, your lawlessness has come to an end;
He will not continue your exile.
He has been concerned about your lawlessness,
O daughter of Edom;
He has revealed your profane acts.
Psalm 119
1 An ode of ascents.
To the Lord in my affliction
I cried out, and He heard me.
2 O Lord, deliver my soul from unjust lips
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What should be given You, and what added to You,
Against a deceitful tongue?
4 The arrows of the Mighty One are sharpened
With hot coals from the desert.
5 Woe is me! My sojourning was prolonged;
I dwelt with the tents of Kedar.
6 My soul sojourned a long time as a resident alien.
7 With those who hate peace, I was peaceful;
When I spoke to them, they made war against me without cause.
Psalm 120
1 An ode of ascents.
I lifted my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
Who made heaven and earth.
3 Let not your foot be moved;
Neither let Him who keeps you slumber.
4 Behold, He who keeps Israel
Shall neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord shall keep you;
The Lord is your shelter at your right hand.
6 The sun shall not burn you by day
Nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord shall keep you from all evil;
The Lord shall keep your soul.
8 The Lord shall keep your coming in and your going out
From this present time and unto the ages.
Proverbs 27:11–15
11 My son, become wise, that my heart may be glad,
And turn away from your reproachful words.
12 An astute man hides when evils are at hand,
But when men without discernment are at hand, they will pay the penalty.
13 If a haughty man passes by, take away his garment,
For he lays waste the goods of another.
14 Whoever blesses a friend early in the morning with a loud voice,
He will not seem different from one who curses him.
15 Continual dripping on a rainy day drives a man from his house;
In like manner, a contentious woman also drives a man from his own house.
1 John 2:2–27
2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
The Test of Knowing Him
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.
9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now.
10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Their Spiritual State
12 I write to you, little children,
Because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.
13 I write to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
Because you have overcome the wicked one.
I write to you, little children,
Because you have known the Father.
14 I have written to you, fathers,
Because you have known Him who is from the beginning.
I have written to you, young men,
Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you,
And you have overcome the wicked one.
Do Not Love the World
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
Deceptions of the Last Hour
18 Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.
20 But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
21 I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son.
23 Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.
Let Truth Abide in You
24 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.
26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you.
27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.