Day 599 of 730

¹Therefore let us also, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

²looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

³For consider him who has endured such hostility from sinners against himself, that you do not grow weary, fainting in your souls.

⁴You have not yet resisted to blood, striving against sin;

⁵and you have forgotten the exhortation which reasons with you as with children, "My son, do not take lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved by him;

⁶For whom the Lord loves, he chastens, and scourges every son whom he receives."

⁷It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?

⁸But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then are you illegitimate, and not children.

⁹Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live?

¹⁰For they indeed, for a few days, punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness.

¹¹All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been exercised thereby.

¹²Therefore, lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees,

¹³and make straight paths for your feet, so that which is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.

¹⁴Follow after peace with all men, and the sanctification without which no man will see the Lord,

¹⁵looking carefully lest there be any man who falls short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and many be defiled by it;

¹⁶lest there be any sexually immoral person, or profane person, like Esau, who sold his own birthright for one meal.

¹⁷For you know that even when he afterward desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for a change of mind though he sought it diligently with tears.

¹⁸For you have not come to something that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and darkness, gloom, and storm,

¹⁹the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which those who heard it begged that not one more word should be spoken to them,

²⁰for they could not stand that which was commanded, "If even an animal touches the mountain, it shall be stoned;"

²¹and so fearful was the appearance, that Moses said, "I am terrified and trembling."

²²But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,

²³to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,

²⁴to Jesus, the mediator of a New Covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of Abel.

²⁵See that you do not refuse him who speaks. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned on the Earth, how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns from heaven,

²⁶whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has promised, saying, "Yet once more I will shake not only the earth, but also the heavens."

²⁷This phrase, "Yet once more," signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may remain.

²⁸So since we are receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us give thanks, through which we may offer service pleasing to God, with reverence and awe,

²⁹for our God is a consuming fire.

¹Praise Yah! Sing to the Lord a new song, his praise in the assembly of the holy ones.

²Let Israel rejoice in him who made them. Let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

³Let them praise his name in the dance! Let them sing praises to him with tambourine and harp!

⁴For the Lord takes pleasure in his people. He crowns the humble with salvation.

⁵Let the holy ones rejoice in honor. Let them sing for joy on their beds.

⁶May the high praises of God be in their mouths, and a two-edged sword in their hand;

⁷To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples;

⁸To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

⁹to execute on them the written judgment. All his holy ones have this honor. Praise Yah!

¹The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a glad father; but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

²Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.

³The Lord will not allow the soul of the righteous to go hungry, but he thrusts away the desire of the wicked.

⁴He becomes poor who works with a lazy hand, but the hand of the diligent brings wealth.

⁵He who gathers in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during the harvest is a son who causes shame.

⁶Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

⁷The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.

⁸The wise in heart accept commandments, but a chattering fool will fall.

⁹He who walks blamelessly walks surely, but he who perverts his ways will be found out.

¹⁰One winking with the eye causes sorrow, but a chattering fool will fall.

¹¹The mouth of the righteous is a spring of life, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.

¹²Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all wrongs.

¹³Wisdom is found on the lips of him who has discernment, but a rod is for the back of him who is void of understanding.

¹⁴Wise men lay up knowledge, but the mouth of the foolish is near ruin.

¹⁵The rich man's wealth is his strong city. The destruction of the poor is their poverty.

¹⁶The labor of the righteous leads to life. The increase of the wicked leads to sin.

¹⁷He is in the way of life who heeds correction, but he who forsakes reproof leads others astray.

¹⁸He who hides hatred has lying lips. He who utters a slander is a fool.

¹⁹In the multitude of words there is no lack of disobedience, but he who restrains his lips does wisely.

²⁰The tongue of the righteous is like choice silver. The heart of the wicked is of little worth.

²¹The lips of the righteous feed many, but the foolish die for lack of understanding.

²²The Lord's blessing brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.

²³It is a fool's pleasure to do wickedness, but wisdom is a man of understanding's pleasure.

²⁴What the wicked fear, will overtake them, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.

²⁵When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more; but the righteous stand firm forever.

²⁶As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to those who send him.

²⁷The fear of the Lord prolongs days, but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

²⁸The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hope of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The way of the Lord is a stronghold to the upright, but it is a destruction to the workers of iniquity.

³⁰The righteous will never be removed, but the wicked will not dwell in the land.

³¹The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but the perverse tongue will be cut off.

³²The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable, but the mouth of the wicked is perverse.