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Psalm 5

1  Give ear to my words, O Lord; ♦︎
   consider my lamentation.
2  Hearken to the voice of my crying, my King and my God, ♦︎
   for to you I make my prayer.
3  In the morning, Lord, you will hear my voice; ♦︎
   early in the morning I make my appeal to you, and look up.
4  For you are the God who takes no pleasure in wickedness; ♦︎
   no evil can dwell with you.
5  The boastful cannot stand in your sight; ♦︎
   you hate all those that work wickedness.
6  You destroy those who speak lies; ♦︎
   the bloodthirsty and deceitful the Lord will abhor.
7  But as for me, through the greatness of your mercy,
      I will come into your house; ♦︎
   I will bow down towards your holy temple in awe of you.
8  Lead me, Lord, in your righteousness,
      because of my enemies; ♦︎
   make your way straight before my face.
9  For there is no truth in their mouth,
      in their heart is destruction, ♦︎
   their throat is an open sepulchre,
      and they flatter with their tongue.
10  Punish them, O God; ♦︎
   let them fall through their own devices.
11  Because of their many transgressions cast them out, ♦︎
   for they have rebelled against you.
12  But let all who take refuge in you be glad; ♦︎
   let them sing out their joy for ever.
13  You will shelter them, ♦︎
   so that those who love your name may exult in you.
14  For you, O Lord, will bless the righteous; ♦︎
   and with your favour you will defend them as with a shield.

Psalm 6

1  O Lord, rebuke me not in your wrath; ♦︎
   neither chasten me in your fierce anger.
2  Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak; ♦︎
   Lord, heal me, for my bones are racked.
3  My soul also shakes with terror; ♦︎
   how long, O Lord, how long?
4  Turn again, O Lord, and deliver my soul; ♦︎
   save me for your loving mercy’s sake.
5  For in death no one remembers you; ♦︎
   and who can give you thanks in the grave?
6  I am weary with my groaning; ♦︎
   every night I drench my pillow
      and flood my bed with my tears.
7  My eyes are wasted with grief ♦︎
   and worn away because of all my enemies.
8  Depart from me, all you that do evil, ♦︎
   for the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.
9  The Lord has heard my supplication; ♦︎
   the Lord will receive my prayer.
10  All my enemies shall be put to shame and confusion; ♦︎
   they shall suddenly turn back in their shame.

Psalm 7

1  O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; ♦︎
   save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me,
2  Lest they rend me like a lion and tear me in pieces ♦︎
   while there is no one to help me.
3  O Lord my God, if I have done these things: ♦︎
   if there is any wickedness in my hands,
4  If I have repaid my friend with evil, ♦︎
   or plundered my enemy without a cause,
5  Then let my enemy pursue me and overtake me, ♦︎
   trample my life to the ground,
      and lay my honour in the dust.
6  Rise up, O Lord, in your wrath;
      lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies. ♦︎
   Awaken, my God, the judgement that you have commanded.
7  Let the assembly of the peoples gather round you; ♦︎
   be seated high above them: O Lord, judge the nations.
8  Give judgement for me
      according to my righteousness, O Lord, ♦︎
   and according to the innocence that is in me.
9  Let the malice of the wicked come to an end,
      but establish the righteous; ♦︎
   for you test the mind and heart, O righteous God.
10  God is my shield that is over me; ♦︎
   he saves the true of heart.
11  God is a righteous judge; ♦︎
   he is provoked all day long.
12  If they will not repent, God will whet his sword; ♦︎
   he has bent his bow and made it ready.
13  He has prepared the weapons of death; ♦︎
   he makes his arrows shafts of fire.
14  Behold those who are in labour with wickedness, ♦︎
   who conceive evil and give birth to lies.
15  They dig a pit and make it deep ♦︎
   and fall into the hole that they have made for others.
16  Their mischief rebounds on their own head; ♦︎
   their violence falls on their own scalp.
17  I will give thanks to the Lord for his righteousness, ♦︎
   and I will make music to the name of the Lord Most High.

The Frustration of Desires

6There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, and it lies heavy upon humankind: ²those to whom God gives wealth, possessions, and honour, so that they lack nothing of all that they desire, yet God does not enable them to enjoy these things, but a stranger enjoys them. This is vanity; it is a grievous ill. ³A man may beget a hundred children, and live for many years; but however many are the days of his years, if he does not enjoy life’s good things, or has no burial, I say that a stillborn child is better off than he. ⁴For it comes into vanity and goes into darkness, and in darkness its name is covered; ⁵moreover, it has not seen the sun or known anything; yet it finds rest rather than he. ⁶Even though he should live a thousand years twice over, yet enjoy no good—do not all go to one place?

7 All human toil is for the mouth, yet the appetite is not satisfied. ⁸For what advantage have the wise over fools? And what do the poor have who know how to conduct themselves before the living? ⁹Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also is vanity and a chasing after wind.^*

10 Whatever has come to be has already been named, and it is known what human beings are, and that they are not able to dispute with those who are stronger. ¹¹The more words, the more vanity, so how is one the better? ¹²For who knows what is good for mortals while they live the few days of their vain life, which they pass like a shadow? For who can tell them what will be after them under the sun?

The Last Words of Mattathias

49 Now the days drew near for Mattathias to die, and he said to his sons: ‘Arrogance and scorn have now become strong; it is a time of ruin and furious anger. ⁵⁰Now, my children, show zeal for the law, and give your lives for the covenant of our ancestors.

51 ‘Remember the deeds of the ancestors, which they did in their generations; and you will receive great honour and an everlasting name. ⁵²Was not Abraham found faithful when tested, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness? ⁵³Joseph in the time of his distress kept the commandment, and became lord of Egypt. ⁵⁴Phinehas our ancestor, because he was deeply zealous, received the covenant of everlasting priesthood. ⁵⁵Joshua, because he fulfilled the command, became a judge in Israel. ⁵⁶Caleb, because he testified in the assembly, received an inheritance in the land. ⁵⁷David, because he was merciful, inherited the throne of the kingdom for ever. ⁵⁸Elijah, because of great zeal for the law, was taken up into heaven. ⁵⁹Hananiah, Azariah, and Mishael believed and were saved from the flame. ⁶⁰Daniel, because of his innocence, was delivered from the mouth of the lions.

61 ‘And so observe, from generation to generation, that none of those who put their trust in him will lack strength. ⁶²Do not fear the words of sinners, for their splendour will turn into dung and worms. ⁶³Today they will be exalted, but tomorrow they will not be found, because they will have returned to the dust, and their plans will have perished. ⁶⁴My children, be courageous and grow strong in the law, for by it you will gain honour.

65 ‘Here is your brother Simeon who, I know, is wise in counsel; always listen to him; he shall be your father. ⁶⁶Judas Maccabeus has been a mighty warrior from his youth; he shall command the army for you and fight the battle against the peoples.^{* 67}You shall rally around you all who observe the law, and avenge the wrong done to your people. ⁶⁸Pay back the Gentiles in full, and obey the commands of the law.’

69 Then he blessed them, and was gathered to his ancestors. ⁷⁰He died in the one hundred and forty-sixth year^* and was buried in the tomb of his ancestors at Modein. And all Israel mourned for him with great lamentation.

23 Now before faith came, we were imprisoned and guarded under the law until faith would be revealed. ²⁴Therefore the law was our disciplinarian until Christ came, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵But now that faith has come, we are no longer subject to a disciplinarian, ²⁶for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. ²⁷As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. ²⁸There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s offspring,^* heirs according to the promise.

4My point is this: heirs, as long as they are minors, are no better than slaves, though they are the owners of all the property; ²but they remain under guardians and trustees until the date set by the father. ³So with us; while we were minors, we were enslaved to the elemental spirits^* of the world. ⁴But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. ⁶And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our^* hearts, crying, ‘Abba!^* Father!’ ⁷So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God.^*

Paul Reproves the Galatians

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to beings that by nature are not gods. ⁹Now, however, that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and beggarly elemental spirits?^* How can you want to be enslaved to them again? ¹⁰You are observing special days, and months, and seasons, and years. ¹¹I am afraid that my work for you may have been wasted.