Day 14 of 365

¹And in those days John the Baptist came, proclaiming in the wilderness of Judea, saying,

²"Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near!"

³For this is he who was spoken of by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord. Make his paths straight."

⁴Now John himself wore clothing made of camel's hair and with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.

⁵Then people from Jerusalem, all of Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him,

⁶and they were baptized by him in the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

⁷But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for his baptism he said to them, "You offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

⁸Therefore bring forth fruit worthy of repentance,

⁹and do not think to yourselves, 'We have Abraham for our father,' for I tell you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones.

¹⁰"And even now the axe lies at the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree that does not bring forth good fruit is cut down, and cast into the fire.

¹¹I indeed baptize you in water for repentance, but the one who comes after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and with fire.

¹²His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor. He will gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire."

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him.

¹⁴But John would have hindered him, saying, "I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me?"

¹⁵But Jesus, answering, said to him, "Allow it now, for this is the fitting way for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed him.

¹⁶And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.

¹⁷And behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."

¹Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

²And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry afterward.

³And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

⁴But he answered, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'"

⁵Then the devil took him into the holy city. He set him on the pinnacle of the temple,

⁶and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, 'He will put his angels in charge of you.' and, 'On their hands they will bear you up, so that you do not dash your foot against a stone.'"

⁷Jesus said to him, "Again, it is written, 'You shall not test the Lord, your God.'"

⁸Again, the devil took him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory.

⁹And he said to him, "I will give you all of these things, if you will fall down and worship me."

¹⁰Then Jesus said to him, "Go away, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.'"

¹¹Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.

¹²Now when he heard that John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee.

¹³And leaving Nazareth, he came and lived in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

¹⁴that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

¹⁵"The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

¹⁶the people who sat in darkness saw a great light, and to those who sat in the region and shadow of death, to them light has dawned."

¹⁷From that time, Jesus began to proclaim, and to say, "Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is near."

¹⁸And walking by the sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers: Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.

¹⁹And he said to them, "Come after me, and I will make you fishers for men."

²⁰And they immediately left their nets and followed him.

²¹Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, Jacob the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and he called them.

²²And they immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.

²³And he went about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom, and healing every disease and every sickness among the people.

²⁴And the report about him went out into all Syria, and they brought to him all who were sick, afflicted with various diseases and torments, possessed with demons, epileptics, and paralytics; and he healed them.

²⁵And great multitudes from Galilee, and Decapolis, and Jerusalem, and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan followed him.

¹And seeing the multitudes, he went up onto the mountain, and when he had sat down, his disciples came to him.

²Then he opened his mouth and taught them, saying,

³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

¹¹"Blessed are you when men insult you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

¹²Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

¹³"You are the salt of the earth, but if the salt has lost its flavor, with what will it be salted? It is then good for nothing, but to be cast out and trodden under the feet of men.

¹⁴You are the light of the world. A city located on a hill cannot be hidden.

¹⁵Neither do you light a lamp, and put it under a measuring basket, but on a stand; and it shines to all who are in the house.

¹⁶Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

¹⁷"Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill.

¹⁸For truly, I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not even one smallest letter or one tiny pen stroke shall in any way pass away from the Law, until all things are accomplished.

¹⁹Whoever, therefore, shall break one of these least commandments, and teach others to do so, shall be called least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever shall do and teach them shall be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven.

²⁰For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, there is no way you will enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

²¹"You have heard that it was said to the ancient ones, 'You shall not murder;' and 'Whoever shall murder shall be in danger of the judgment.'

²²But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing!' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of hell.

²³"If therefore you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has anything against you,

²⁴leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

²⁵Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him in the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.

²⁶Truly I tell you, you shall by no means get out of there, until you have paid the last penny.

²⁷"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery;'

²⁸but I tell you that everyone who gazes at a woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart.

²⁹And if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

³⁰And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it away from you. For it is more profitable for you that one of your members should perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.

³¹"It was also said, 'Whoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorce,'

³²but I tell you that whoever puts away his wife, except for the cause of sexual immorality, makes her an adulteress; and whoever marries her when she is put away commits adultery.

³³"Again you have heard that it was said to them of old time, 'You shall not make false vows, but shall perform to the Lord your vows,'

³⁴but I tell you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

³⁵nor by the earth, for it is the footstool of his feet; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King.

³⁶Neither shall you swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black.

³⁷But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes' and your 'No' be 'No.' Whatever is more than these is of the evil one.

³⁸"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.'

³⁹But I tell you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever strikes you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also.

⁴⁰And if anyone sues you to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also.

⁴¹And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two.

⁴²Give to him who asks you, and do not turn away him who desires to borrow from you.

⁴³"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.'

⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you,

⁴⁵that you may be children of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁷And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do than others? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

¹The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. There is none who does good.

²The Lord looked down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who did understand, who did seek after God.

³They have all gone aside. They have together become corrupt. There is none who does good, no, not one.

⁴Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge, who eat up my people as they eat bread, and do not call on the Lord?

⁵There they were in great fear, for God is in the generation of the righteous.

⁶You would frustrate the plans of the lowly, but the Lord is his refuge.

⁷Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

¹Every wise woman builds her house, but the foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

²He who walks in his uprightness fears the Lord, but he who is perverse in his ways despises him.

³The fool's talk brings a rod to his back, but the lips of the wise protect them.

⁴Where no oxen are, the crib is clean, but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

⁵A truthful witness will not lie, but a false witness pours out lies.

⁶A scoffer seeks wisdom, and doesn't find it, but knowledge comes easily to a discerning person.

⁷Stay away from a foolish man, for you won't find knowledge on his lips.

⁸The wisdom of the prudent is to think about his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.

⁹Fools mock at making atonement for sins, but among the upright there is good will.

¹⁰The heart knows its own bitterness and joy; he will not share these with a stranger.

¹¹The house of the wicked will be overthrown, but the tent of the upright will flourish.

¹²There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

¹³Even in laughter the heart may be sorrowful, and mirth may end in heaviness.

¹⁴The unfaithful will be repaid for his own ways; likewise a good man will be rewarded for his ways.

¹⁵A simple man believes everything, but the prudent man carefully considers his ways.

¹⁶A wise man fears, and shuns evil, but the fool is hotheaded and reckless.

¹⁷He who is quick to become angry will commit folly, and a crafty man is hated.

¹⁸The simple inherit folly, but the prudent are crowned with knowledge.

¹⁹The evil bow down before the good, and the wicked at the gates of the righteous.

²⁰The poor person is shunned even by his own neighbor, but the rich person has many friends.

²¹He who despises his neighbor sins, but blessed is he who has pity on the poor.

²²Do they not go astray who plot evil? But love and faithfulness belong to those who plan good.

²³In all hard work there is profit, but the talk of the lips leads only to poverty.

²⁴The crown of the wise is their riches, but the folly of fools crowns them with folly.

²⁵A truthful witness saves souls, but a false witness is deceitful.

²⁶In the fear of the Lord is a secure fortress, and he will be a refuge for his children.

²⁷The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people from the snares of death.

²⁸In the multitude of people is the king's glory, but in the lack of people is the destruction of the prince.

²⁹He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a quick temper displays folly.

³⁰The life of the body is a heart at peace, but envy rots the bones.

³¹He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for his Maker, but he who is kind to the needy honors him.

³²The wicked is brought down in his calamity, but in death, the righteous has a refuge.

³³Wisdom rests in the heart of one who has understanding, and is even made known in the inward part of fools.

³⁴Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.

³⁵The king's favor is toward a servant who deals wisely, but his wrath is toward one who causes shame.