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Daily Readings for May 5
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Deuteronomy 22
1.You shall not see your brother's ox or his sheep go astray, and hide yourself from them: you shall surely bring them again to your brother. 2.If your brother isn't near to you, or if you don't know him, then you shall bring it home to your house, and it shall be with you until your brother seek after it, and you shall restore it to him. 3.So you shall do with his donkey; and so you shall do with his garment; and so you shall do with every lost thing of your brother's, which he has lost, and you have found: you may not hide yourself. 4.You shall not see your brother's donkey or his ox fallen down by the way, and hide yourself from them: you shall surely help him to lift them up again. 5.A woman shall not wear men's clothing, neither shall a man put on women's clothing; for whoever does these things is an abomination to Yahweh your God. 6.If a bird's nest chance to be before you in the way, in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs, and the hen sitting on the young, or on the eggs, you shall not take the hen with the young: 7.you shall surely let the hen go, but the young you may take to yourself; that it may be well with you, and that you may prolong your days. 8.When you build a new house, then you shall make a battlement for your roof, that you don't bring blood on your house, if any man fall from there. 9.You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole fruit be forfeited, the seed which you have sown, and the increase of the vineyard. 10.You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. 11.You shall not wear a mixed stuff, wool and linen together. 12.You shall make yourselves fringes7 on the four borders of your cloak, with which you cover yourself.
13.If any man takes a wife, and goes in to her, and hates her, 14.and accuses her of shameful things, and brings up an evil name on her, and says, "I took this woman, and when I came near to her, I didn't find in her the tokens of virginity;" 15.then shall the father of the young lady, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the young lady's virginity to the elders of the city in the gate; 16.and the young lady's father shall tell the elders, "I gave my daughter to this man to wife, and he hates her; 17.and behold, he has accused her of shameful things, saying, 'I didn't find in your daughter the tokens of virginity;' and yet these are the tokens of my daughter's virginity." They shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. 18.The elders of that city shall take the man and chastise him; 19.and they shall fine him one hundred shekels of silver, and give them to the father of the young lady, because he has brought up an evil name on a virgin of Israel: and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days.
20.But if this thing be true, that the tokens of virginity were not found in the young lady; 21.then they shall bring out the young lady to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her to death with stones, because she has done folly in Israel, to play the prostitute in her father's house: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you. 22.If a man be found lying with a woman married to a husband, then they shall both of them die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman: so you shall put away the evil from Israel. 23.If there is a young lady who is a virgin pledged to be married to a husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; 24.then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones; the lady, because she didn't cry, being in the city; and the man, because he has humbled his neighbor's wife: so you shall put away the evil from the midst of you. 25.But if the man find the lady who is pledged to be married in the field, and the man force her, and lie with her; then the man only who lay with her shall die: 26.but to the lady you shall do nothing; there is in the lady no sin worthy of death: for as when a man rises against his neighbor, and kills him, even so is this matter; 27.for he found her in the field, the pledged to be married lady cried, and there was none to save her. 28.If a man find a lady who is a virgin, who is not pledged to be married, and lay hold on her, and lie with her, and they be found; 29.then the man who lay with her shall give to the lady's father fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife, because he has humbled her; he may not put her away all his days. 30.A man shall not take his father's wife, and shall not uncover his father's skirt.
Song of Solomon 2
Beloved 1.I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.
Lover 2.As a lily among thorns, so is my love among the daughters.
Beloved 3.As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4.He brought me to the banquet hall. His banner over me is love. 5.Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am faint with love. 6.His left hand is under my head. His right hand embraces me.
7.I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, or by the hinds of the field, that you not stir up, nor awaken love, until it so desires.
8.The voice of my beloved! Behold, he comes, leaping on the mountains, skipping on the hills. 9.My beloved is like a roe or a young hart. Behold, he stands behind our wall! He looks in at the windows. He glances through the lattice.
10.My beloved spoke, and said to me, "Rise up, my love, my beautiful one, and come away. 11.For, behold, the winter is past. The rain is over and gone. 12.The flowers appear on the earth. The time of the singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. 13.The fig tree ripens her green figs. The vines are in blossom. They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my beautiful one, and come away."
Lover 14.My dove in the clefts of the rock, In the hiding places of the mountainside, Let me see your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.
15.Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards; for our vineyards are in blossom.
Beloved 16.My beloved is mine, and I am his. He browses among the lilies. 17.Until the day is cool, and the shadows flee away, turn, my beloved, and be like a roe or a young hart on the mountains of Bether.
Acts 14
1.It happened in Iconium that they entered together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks believed. 2.But the disbelieving57 Jews stirred up and embittered the souls of the Gentiles against the brothers. 3.Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who testified to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. 4.But the multitude of the city was divided. Part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles. 5.When some of both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them, 6.they became aware of it, and fled to the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra, Derbe, and the surrounding region. 7.There they preached the Good News.
8.At Lystra a certain man sat, impotent in his feet, a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked. 9.He was listening to Paul speaking, who, fastening eyes on him, and seeing that he had faith to be made whole, 10.said with a loud voice, "Stand upright on your feet!" He leaped up and walked. 11.When the multitude saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in the language of Lycaonia, "The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!" 12.They called Barnabas "Jupiter," and Paul "Mercury," because he was the chief speaker. 13.The priest of Jupiter, whose temple was in front of their city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates, and would have made a sacrifice along with the multitudes. 14.But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they tore their clothes, and sprang into the multitude, crying out, 15."Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to the living God, who made the sky and the earth and the sea, and all that is in them; 16.who in the generations gone by allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17.Yet he didn't leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you58 rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness."
18.Even saying these things, they hardly stopped the multitudes from making a sacrifice to them. 19.But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
20.But as the disciples stood around him, he rose up, and entered into the city. On the next day he went out with Barnabas to Derbe. 21.When they had preached the Good News to that city, and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22.confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into the Kingdom of God. 23.When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had believed.
24.They passed through Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. 25.When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. 26.From there they sailed to Antioch, from where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled. 27.When they had arrived, and had gathered the assembly together, they reported all the things that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations. 28.They stayed there with the disciples for a long time.
Acts 15
1.Some men came down from Judea and taught the brothers, "Unless you are circumcised after the custom of Moses, you can't be saved." 2.Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them, to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. 3.They, being sent on their way by the assembly, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. They caused great joy to all the brothers.59 4.When they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the assembly and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all things that God had done with them.
5.But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses."
6.The apostles and the elders were gathered together to see about this matter. 7.When there had been much discussion, Peter rose up and said to them, "Brothers, you know that a good while ago God made a choice among you, that by my mouth the nations should hear the word of the Good News, and believe. 8.God, who knows the heart, testified about them, giving them the Holy Spirit, just like he did to us. 9.He made no distinction between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. 10.Now therefore why do you tempt God, that you should put a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11.But we believe that we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus,60 just as they are."
12.All the multitude kept silence, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul reporting what signs and wonders God had done among the nations through them. 13.After they were silent, James answered, "Brothers, listen to me. 14.Simeon has reported how God first visited the nations, to take out of them a people for his name. 15.This agrees with the words of the prophets. As it is written, 16.'After these things I will return. I will again build the tabernacle of David, which has fallen. I will again build its ruins. I will set it up, 17.That the rest of men may seek after the Lord; All the Gentiles who are called by my name, Says the Lord, who does all these things.61 18.All his works are known to God from eternity.'
19."Therefore my judgment is that we don't trouble those from among the Gentiles who turn to God, 20.but that we write to them that they abstain from the pollution of idols, from sexual immorality, from what is strangled, and from blood. 21.For Moses from generations of old has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath."
22.Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole assembly, to choose men out of their company, and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas: Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, chief men among the brothers.62 23.They wrote these things by their hand:
"The apostles, the elders, and the brothers, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia: greetings. 24.Because we have heard that some who went out from us have troubled you with words, unsettling your souls, saying, 'You must be circumcised and keep the law,' to whom we gave no commandment; 25.it seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26.men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27.We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves will also tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28.For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay no greater burden on you than these necessary things: 29.that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality, from which if you keep yourselves, it will be well with you. Farewell."
30.So, when they were sent off, they came to Antioch. Having gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter. 31.When they had read it, they rejoiced over the encouragement. 32.Judas and Silas, also being prophets themselves, encouraged the brothers with many words, and strengthened them. 33.After they had spent some time there, they were sent back with greetings from the brothers to the apostles. 34.63 35.But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.
36.After some days Paul said to Barnabas, "Let's return now and visit our brothers in every city in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing." 37.Barnabas planned to take John, who was called Mark, with them also. 38.But Paul didn't think that it was a good idea to take with them someone who had withdrawn from them in Pamphylia, and didn't go with them to do the work. 39.Then the contention grew so sharp that they separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him, and sailed away to Cyprus, 40.but Paul chose Silas, and went out, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God. 41.He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the assemblies.