Psalm 106:19–48; Psalm 100; Psalm 101; Proverbs 8:1; Proverbs 8:22–36; Matthew 12:22–45

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Psalm 106:19–48

19  They nmade a calf in Horeb

and worshiped a metal image.

20  They oexchanged the glory of God1

for the image of an ox that eats grass.

21  They pforgot God, their Savior,

who had done great things in Egypt,

22  wondrous works in qthe land of Ham,

and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.

23  Therefore rhe said he would destroy them

had not Moses, his schosen one,

tstood in the breach before him,

to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

24  Then they udespised vthe pleasant land,

having wno faith in his promise.

25  They xmurmured in their tents,

and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

26  Therefore he yraised his hand and swore to them

that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

27  and would make their offspring fall among the nations,

zscattering them among the lands.

28  Then they ayoked themselves to the aBaal of Peor,

and ate sacrifices offered to bthe dead;

29  they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

and a plague broke out among them.

30  Then cPhinehas stood up and intervened,

and the plague was stayed.

31  And that was dcounted to him as righteousness

from generation to generation forever.

32  They eangered him at the waters of Meribah,

and it went ill with Moses on their account,

33  for they fmade his spirit bitter,2

and he gspoke rashly with his lips.

34  They did not hdestroy the peoples,

ias the Lord commanded them,

35  but they jmixed with the nations

and learned to do as they did.

36  They served their idols,

which became ka snare to them.

37  They lsacrificed their sons

and their daughters to mthe demons;

38  they poured out innocent blood,

the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan,

and the land was npolluted with blood.

39  Thus they obecame unclean by their acts,

and pplayed the whore in their deeds.

40  Then qthe anger of the Lord was kindled against rhis people,

and he abhorred his rheritage;

41  he sgave them into the hand of the nations,

so that those who hated them ruled over them.

42  Their enemies toppressed them,

and they were brought into subjection under their power.

43  uMany times he delivered them,

but they were rebellious in their vpurposes

and were wbrought low through their iniquity.

44  Nevertheless, he looked upon their distress,

when he xheard their cry.

45  For their sake he yremembered his covenant,

and zrelented according to athe abundance of his steadfast love.

46  He caused them to be bpitied

by all those who held them captive.

47  cSave us, O Lord our God,

and dgather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

and glory in your praise.

48  eBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

eAnd let all the people say, Amen!

fPraise the Lord!


Psalm 100

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever

A Psalm for ogiving thanks.

pMake a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

qServe the Lord with gladness!

rCome into his presence with singing!

Know that sthe Lord, he is God!

It is he who tmade us, and uwe are his;1

we are his vpeople, and wthe sheep of his pasture.

xEnter his gates with thanksgiving,

and his ycourts with praise!

Give thanks to him; zbless his name!

aFor the Lord is good;

his steadfast love endures forever,

and his bfaithfulness to all generations.


Psalm 101

I Will Walk with Integrity

A Psalm of David.

I will sing of csteadfast love and justice;

to you, O Lord, I will make music.

I will dponder the way ethat is blameless.

Oh when will you fcome to me?

I will gwalk with hintegrity of heart

within my house;

I will not set before my eyes

anything ithat is worthless.

I hate the work of those who jfall away;

it shall not cling to me.

kA perverse heart shall be far from me;

I will lknow nothing of evil.

Whoever slanders his neighbor msecretly

I will ndestroy.

Whoever has a ohaughty look and an parrogant heart

I will not endure.

I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in qthe way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

No one who rpractices deceit

shall dwell in my house;

no one who utters lies

shall scontinue before my eyes.

tMorning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

ucutting off all vthe evildoers

from wthe city of the Lord.


Proverbs 8:1

The Blessings of Wisdom

Does not lwisdom call?

Does not munderstanding raise her voice?


Proverbs 8:22–36

22  sThe Lord tpossessed1 me at the beginning of his work,2

the first of his acts uof old.

23  Ages ago I was vset up,

at the first, wbefore the beginning of the earth.

24  When there were no xdepths I was ybrought forth,

when there were no springs abounding with water.

25  Before the mountains zhad been shaped,

abefore the hills, I was brought forth,

26  before he had made the earth with its fields,

or the first of the dust of the world.

27  When he bestablished the heavens, I was there;

when he drew ca circle on the face of the deep,

28  when he dmade firm the skies above,

when he established3 the fountains of the deep,

29  when he eassigned to the sea its flimit,

so that the waters might not transgress his command,

when he marked out gthe foundations of the earth,

30  then hI was beside him, like a master workman,

and I was daily his4 idelight,

rejoicing before him always,

31  jrejoicing in his kinhabited world

and delighting in the children of man.

32  And now, lO sons, listen to me:

mblessed are those who keep my ways.

33  nHear instruction and be wise,

and do not neglect it.

34  oBlessed is the one who listens to me,

watching daily at my gates,

waiting beside my doors.

35  For pwhoever finds me qfinds life

and robtains favor from the Lord,

36  but he who fails to find me sinjures himself;

all who thate me ulove death.


Matthew 12:22–45

Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit

22 wThen a demon-oppressed man who was blind and mute was brought to him, and he healed him, so that the man spoke and saw. 23 xAnd all the people were amazed, and said, xCan this be the Son of David? 24 But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, yIt is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons. 25 zKnowing their thoughts, ahe said to them, Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 And if Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, bby whom do cyour sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 28 But if it is dby the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then ethe kingdom of God has come upon you. 29 Or fhow can someone enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed ghe may plunder his house. 30 hWhoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. 31 iTherefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but jthe blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word kagainst the Son of Man lwill be forgiven, but jwhoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in mthis age or in the age to come.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit

33 nEither make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad, ofor the tree is known by its fruit. 34 pYou brood of vipers! How can you speak good, qwhen you are evil? rFor out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 rThe good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil. 36 I tell you, son the day of judgment tpeople will give account for uevery careless word they speak, 37 for vby your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

The Sign of Jonah

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, Teacher, wwe wish to see a sign from you. 39 But he answered them, xAn evil and yadulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For zjust as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, aso will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 bThe men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and ccondemn it, for dthey repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, esomething greater than Jonah is here. 42 fThe queen of the South will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, esomething greater than Solomon is here.

Return of an Unclean Spirit

43 When gthe unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through hwaterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, I will return to my house from which I came. And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and ithe last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this jevil generation.