April 19

1 Samson went to Gaza, and there he saw a prostitute, and he went in to her.

2 The Gazites were told, "Samson has come here." And they surrounded the place and set an ambush for him all night at the gate of the city. They kept quiet all night, saying, "Let us wait till the light of the morning; then we will kill him."

3 But Samson lay till midnight, and at midnight he arose and took hold of the doors of the gate of the city and the two posts, and pulled them up, bar and all, and put them on his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that is in front of Hebron.

4 After this he loved a woman in the Valley of Sorek, whose name was Delilah.

5 And the lords of the Philistines came up to her and said to her, "Seduce him, and see where his great strength lies, and by what means we may overpower him, that we may bind him to humble him. And we will each give you 1,100 pieces of silver."

6 So Delilah said to Samson, "Please tell me where your great strength lies, and how you might be bound, that one could subdue you."

7 Samson said to her, "If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings that have not been dried, then I shall become weak and be like any other man."

8 Then the lords of the Philistines brought up to her seven fresh bowstrings that had not been dried, and she bound him with them.

9 Now she had men lying in ambush in an inner chamber. And she said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he snapped the bowstrings, as a thread of flax snaps when it touches the fire. So the secret of his strength was not known.

10 Then Delilah said to Samson, "Behold, you have mocked me and told me lies. Please tell me how you might be bound."

11 And he said to her, "If they bind me with new ropes that have not been used, then I shall become weak and be like any other man."

12 So Delilah took new ropes and bound him with them and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And the men lying in ambush were in an inner chamber. But he snapped the ropes off his arms like a thread.

13 Then Delilah said to Samson, "Until now you have mocked me and told me lies. Tell me how you might be bound." And he said to her, "If you weave the seven locks of my head with the web and fasten it tight with the pin, then I shall become weak and be like any other man."

14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his head and wove them into the web. And she made them tight with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled away the pin, the loom, and the web.

15 And she said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies."

16 And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death.

17 And he told her all his heart, and said to her, "A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother's womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man."

18 When Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, "Come up again, for he has told me all his heart." Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands.

19 She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.

20 And she said, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" And he awoke from his sleep and said, "I will go out as at other times and shake myself free." But he did not know that the LORD had left him.

21 And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles. And he ground at the mill in the prison.

22 But the hair of his head began to grow again after it had been shaved.

23 Now the lords of the Philistines gathered to offer a great sacrifice to Dagon their god and to rejoice, and they said, "Our god has given Samson our enemy into our hand."

24 And when the people saw him, they praised their god. For they said, "Our god has given our enemy into our hand, the ravager of our country, who has killed many of us."

25 And when their hearts were merry, they said, "Call Samson, that he may entertain us." So they called Samson out of the prison, and he entertained them. They made him stand between the pillars.

26 And Samson said to the young man who held him by the hand, "Let me feel the pillars on which the house rests, that I may lean against them."

27 Now the house was full of men and women. All the lords of the Philistines were there, and on the roof there were about 3,000 men and women, who looked on while Samson entertained.

28 Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me only this once, O God, that I may be avenged on the Philistines for my two eyes."

29 And Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and he leaned his weight against them, his right hand on the one and his left hand on the other.

30 And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines." Then he bowed with all his strength, and the house fell upon the lords and upon all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he had killed during his life.

31 Then his brothers and all his family came down and took him and brought him up and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had judged Israel twenty years. - Judges 16

1 I will sing of the steadfast love of the LORD, forever; with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 

2 For I said, "Steadfast love will be built up forever; in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness." 

3 You have said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: 

4 'I will establish your offspring forever, and build your throne for all generations.'" Selah 

5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD, your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones! 

6 For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD? Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD, 

7 a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all who are around him? 

8 O LORD God of hosts, who is mighty as you are, O LORD, with your faithfulness all around you? 

9 You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, you still them. 

10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass; you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 

11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours; the world and all that is in it, you have founded them. 

12 The north and the south, you have created them; Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name. 

13 You have a mighty arm; strong is your hand, high your right hand. 

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; steadfast love and faithfulness go before you. 

15 Blessed are the people who know the festal shout, who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face, 

16 who exult in your name all the day and in your righteousness are exalted. 

17 For you are the glory of their strength; by your favor our horn is exalted. 

18 For our shield belongs to the LORD, our king to the Holy One of Israel.  - Psalm 89:1-18

14 For the body does not consist of one member but of many.

15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," that would not make it any less a part of the body.

17 If the whole body were an eye, where would be the sense of hearing? If the whole body were an ear, where would be the sense of smell?

18 But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

19 If all were a single member, where would the body be?

20 As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you," nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

22 On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable,

23 and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,

24 which our more presentable parts do not require. But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,

25 that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.

26 If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

27 Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

28 And God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, helping, administrating, and various kinds of tongues.

29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles?

30 Do all possess gifts of healing? Do all speak with tongues? Do all interpret?

31 But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.  - 1 Corinthians 12:14-31

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden.

25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet.

26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

27 And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."

28 But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs."

29 And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."

30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis.

32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him.

33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue.

34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, "Ephphatha," that is, "Be opened."

35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly.

36 And Jesus charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it.

37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak." - Mark 7:24-37