Bible reading

1 Then the LORD appeared to him by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day.
2 So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground,
3 and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.
4 Please let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree.
5 And I will bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh your hearts. After that you may pass by, inasmuch as you have come to your servant." They said, "Do as you have said."
6 So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, "Quickly, make ready three measures of fine meal; knead it and make cakes."
7 And Abraham ran to the herd, took a tender and good calf, gave it to a young man, and he hastened to prepare it.
8 So he took butter and milk and the calf which he had prepared, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree as they ate.
9 Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent."
10 And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.)
11 Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing.
12 Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?"
13 And the LORD said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, "Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?'
14 Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son."
15 But Sarah denied it, saying, "I did not laugh," for she was afraid. And He said, "No, but you did laugh!"
16 Then the men rose from there and looked toward Sodom, and Abraham went with them to send them on the way.
17 And the LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing,
18 since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
19 For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him."
20 And the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grave,
21 I will go down now and see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry against it that has come to Me; and if not, I will know."
22 Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the LORD.
23 And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?
24 Suppose there were fifty righteous within the city; would You also destroy the place and not spare it for the fifty righteous that were in it?
25 Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"
26 So the LORD said, "If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes."
27 Then Abraham answered and said, "Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord:
28 Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?" So He said, "If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it."
29 And he spoke to Him yet again and said, "Suppose there should be forty found there?" So He said, "I will not do it for the sake of forty."
30 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not do it if I find thirty there."
31 And he said, "Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?" So He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty."
32 Then he said, "Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?" And He said, "I will not destroy it for the sake of ten."
33 So the LORD went His way as soon as He had finished speaking with Abraham; and Abraham returned to his place.

1 Then I stood on the sand of the sea. And I saw a beast rising up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads a blasphemous name.
2 Now the beast which I saw was like a leopard, his feet were like the feet of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as if it had been mortally wounded, and his deadly wound was healed. And all the world marveled and followed the beast.
4 So they worshiped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?"
5 And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months.
6 Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven.
7 It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation.
8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear.
10 He who leads into captivity shall go into captivity; he who kills with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.
11 Then I saw another beast coming up out of the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb and spoke like a dragon.
12 And he exercises all the authority of the first beast in his presence, and causes the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 He performs great signs, so that he even makes fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men.
14 And he deceives those who dwell on the earth by those signs which he was granted to do in the sight of the beast, telling those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the beast who was wounded by the sword and lived.
15 He was granted power to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.
16 He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads,
17 and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is .

1 Give ear, O my people, to my law; Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old,
3 Which we have heard and known, And our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, Telling to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
5 For He established a testimony in Jacob, And appointed a law in Israel, Which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children;
6 That the generation to come might know them, The children who would be born, That they may arise and declare them to their children,
7 That they may set their hope in God, And not forget the works of God, But keep His commandments;
8 And may not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not set its heart aright, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows, Turned back in the day of battle.
10 They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law,
11 And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them.
12 Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.
17 But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness.
18 And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy.
19 Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
20 Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?
21 Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel,
22 Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation.
23 Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven,
24 Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven.
25 Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full.
26 He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind.
27 He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas;
28 And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings.
29 So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire.
30 They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,
31 The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel.
32 In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works.
33 Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear.
34 When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God.
35 Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.
36 Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue;
37 For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant.
38 But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath;
39 For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again.
40 How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
41 Yes, again and again they tempted God, And limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They did not remember His power: The day when He redeemed them from the enemy,
43 When He worked His signs in Egypt, And His wonders in the field of Zoan;
44 Turned their rivers into blood, And their streams, that they could not drink.
45 He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, And frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He also gave their crops to the caterpillar, And their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with hail, And their sycamore trees with frost.
48 He also gave up their cattle to the hail, And their flocks to fiery lightning.
49 He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them.
50 He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague,
51 And destroyed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52 But He made His own people go forth like sheep, And guided them in the wilderness like a flock;
53 And He led them on safely, so that they did not fear; But the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also drove out the nations before them, Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.
56 Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, And did not keep His testimonies,
57 But turned back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; They were turned aside like a deceitful bow.
58 For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
59 When God heard this, He was furious, And greatly abhorred Israel,
60 So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, The tent He had placed among men,
61 And delivered His strength into captivity, And His glory into the enemy's hand.
62 He also gave His people over to the sword, And was furious with His inheritance.
63 The fire consumed their young men, And their maidens were not given in marriage.
64 Their priests fell by the sword, And their widows made no lamentation.
65 Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, Like a mighty man who shouts because of wine.
66 And He beat back His enemies; He put them to a perpetual reproach.
67 Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,
68 But chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion which He loved.
69 And He built His sanctuary like the heights, Like the earth which He has established forever.
70 He also chose David His servant, And took him from the sheepfolds;
71 From following the ewes that had young He brought him, To shepherd Jacob His people, And Israel His inheritance.
72 So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, And guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

1 The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, Like the rivers of water; He turns it wherever He wishes.
2 Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts.
3 To do righteousness and justice Is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
4 A haughty look, a proud heart, And the plowing of the wicked are sin.
5 The plans of the diligent lead surely to plenty, But those of everyone who is hasty, surely to poverty.
6 Getting treasures by a lying tongue Is the fleeting fantasy of those who seek death.
7 The violence of the wicked will destroy them, Because they refuse to do justice.
8 The way of a guilty man is perverse; But as for the pure, his work is right.
9 Better to dwell in a corner of a housetop, Than in a house shared with a contentious woman.
10 The soul of the wicked desires evil; His neighbor finds no favor in his eyes.
11 When the scoffer is punished, the simple is made wise; But when the wise is instructed, he receives knowledge.
12 The righteous God wisely considers the house of the wicked, Overthrowing the wicked for their wickedness.
13 Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor Will also cry himself and not be heard.
14 A gift in secret pacifies anger, And a bribe behind the back, strong wrath.
15 It is a joy for the just to do justice, But destruction will come to the workers of iniquity.
16 A man who wanders from the way of understanding Will rest in the assembly of the dead.
17 He who loves pleasure will be a poor man; He who loves wine and oil will not be rich.
18 The wicked shall be a ransom for the righteous, And the unfaithful for the upright.
19 Better to dwell in the wilderness, Than with a contentious and angry woman.
20 There is desirable treasure, And oil in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man squanders it.
21 He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness and honor.
22 A wise man scales the city of the mighty, And brings down the trusted stronghold.
23 Whoever guards his mouth and tongue Keeps his soul from troubles.
24 A proud and haughty man--"Scoffer" is his name; He acts with arrogant pride.
25 The desire of the lazy man kills him, For his hands refuse to labor.
26 He covets greedily all day long, But the righteous gives and does not spare.
27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; How much more when he brings it with wicked intent!
28 A false witness shall perish, But the man who hears him will speak endlessly.
29 A wicked man hardens his face, But as for the upright, he establishes his way.
30 There is no wisdom or understanding Or counsel against the LORD.
31 The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But deliverance is of the LORD.