Luke 17:11-19
[11]
On the way to Jerusalem he was passing along between Samaria and
Galilee. [12] And as he entered a village, he was met by ten lepers, who
stood at a distance [13] and lifted up their voices, saying, “Jesus,
Master, have mercy on us.” [14] When he saw them he said to them, “Go
and show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went they were
cleansed. [15] Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned
back, praising God with a loud voice; [16] and he fell on his face at
Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks. Now he was a Samaritan. [17] Then Jesus
answered, “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? [18] Was no one
found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” [19] And
he said to him, “Rise and go your way; your faith has made you well.”
2 Timothy 2:1-13
[1]
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ
Jesus, [2] and what you have heard from me in the presence of many
witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others
also. [3] Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. [4] No
soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please
the one who enlisted him. [5] An athlete is not crowned unless he
competes according to the rules. [6] It is the hard-working farmer who
ought to have the first share of the crops. [7] Think over what I say,
for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
[8]
Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as
preached in my gospel, [9] for which I am suffering, bound with chains
as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! [10] Therefore I endure
everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the
salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. [11] The saying is
trustworthy, for:
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
[12] if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
[13] if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
for he cannot deny himself.
Proverbs 11:16-31
[16]
A gracious woman gets honor,
and violent men get riches.
[17]
A man who is kind benefits himself,
but a cruel man hurts himself.
[18]
The wicked earns deceptive wages,
but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.
[19]
Whoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,
but he who pursues evil will die.
[20]
Those of crooked heart are an abomination to the LORD,
but those of blameless ways are his delight.
[21]
Be assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,
but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.
[22]
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman without discretion.
[23]
The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
[24]
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
[25]
Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
and one who waters will himself be watered.
[26]
The people curse him who holds back grain,
but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
[27]
Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,
but evil comes to him who searches for it.
[28]
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
[29]
Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,
and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
[30]
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and whoever captures souls is wise.
[31]
If the righteous is repaid on earth,
how much more the wicked and the sinner!
Ezra 7
[1]
Now after this, in the reign of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Ezra the son
of Seraiah, son of Azariah, son of Hilkiah, [2] son of Shallum, son of
Zadok, son of Ahitub, [3] son of Amariah, son of Azariah, son of
Meraioth, [4] son of Zerahiah, son of Uzzi, son of Bukki, [5] son of
Abishua, son of Phinehas, son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the chief
priest—[6] this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in
the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the
king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was
on him.
[7]
And there went up also to Jerusalem, in the seventh year of Artaxerxes
the king, some of the people of Israel, and some of the priests and
Levites, the singers and gatekeepers, and the temple servants. [8] And
Ezra came to Jerusalem in the fifth month, which was in the seventh year
of the king. [9] For on the first day of the first month he began to go
up from Babylonia, and on the first day of the fifth month he came to
Jerusalem, for the good hand of his God was on him. [10] For Ezra had
set his heart to study the Law of the LORD, and to do it and to teach
his statutes and rules in Israel.
[11]
This is a copy of the letter that King Artaxerxes gave to Ezra the
priest, the scribe, a man learned in matters of the commandments of the
LORD and his statutes for Israel: [12] “Artaxerxes, king of kings, to
Ezra the priest, the scribe of the Law of the God of heaven. Peace. And
now [13] I make a decree that anyone of the people of Israel or their
priests or Levites in my kingdom, who freely offers to go to Jerusalem,
may go with you. [14] For you are sent by the king and his seven
counselors to make inquiries about Judah and Jerusalem according to the
Law of your God, which is in your hand, [15] and also to carry the
silver and gold that the king and his counselors have freely offered to
the God of Israel, whose dwelling is in Jerusalem, [16] with all the
silver and gold that you shall find in the whole province of Babylonia,
and with the freewill offerings of the people and the priests, vowed
willingly for the house of their God that is in Jerusalem. [17] With
this money, then, you shall with all diligence buy bulls, rams, and
lambs, with their grain offerings and their drink offerings, and you
shall offer them on the altar of the house of your God that is in
Jerusalem. [18] Whatever seems good to you and your brothers to do with
the rest of the silver and gold, you may do, according to the will of
your God. [19] The vessels that have been given you for the service of
the house of your God, you shall deliver before the God of Jerusalem.
[20] And whatever else is required for the house of your God, which it
falls to you to provide, you may provide it out of the king’s treasury.
[21]
“And I, Artaxerxes the king, make a decree to all the treasurers in the
province Beyond the River: Whatever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the
Law of the God of heaven, requires of you, let it be done with all
diligence, [22] up to 100 talents of silver, 100 cors of wheat, 100
baths of wine, 100 baths of oil, and salt without prescribing how much.
[23] Whatever is decreed by the God of heaven, let it be done in full
for the house of the God of heaven, lest his wrath be against the realm
of the king and his sons. [24] We also notify you that it shall not be
lawful to impose tribute, custom, or toll on anyone of the priests, the
Levites, the singers, the doorkeepers, the temple servants, or other
servants of this house of God.
[25]
“And you, Ezra, according to the wisdom of your God that is in your
hand, appoint magistrates and judges who may judge all the people in the
province Beyond the River, all such as know the laws of your God. And
those who do not know them, you shall teach. [26] Whoever will not obey
the law of your God and the law of the king, let judgment be strictly
executed on him, whether for death or for banishment or for confiscation
of his goods or for imprisonment.”
[27]
Blessed be the LORD, the God of our fathers, who put such a thing as
this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the LORD that
is in Jerusalem, [28] and who extended to me his steadfast love before
the king and his counselors, and before all the king’s mighty officers. I
took courage, for the hand of the LORD my God was on me, and I gathered
leading men from Israel to go up with me.
