Psalm 17 (Listen)

In the Shadow of Your Wings

A Prayer of David.

17   Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
    Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2   From your presence let my vindication come!
    Let your eyes behold the right!
3   You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
    you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
    I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4   With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
    I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5   My steps have held fast to your paths;
    my feet have not slipped.
6   I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
    incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7   Wondrously show¹ your steadfast love,
    O Savior of those who seek refuge
    from their adversaries at your right hand.
8   Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9   from the wicked who do me violence,
    my deadly enemies who surround me.
10   They close their hearts to pity;
    with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11   They have now surrounded our steps;
    they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
12   He is like a lion eager to tear,
    as a young lion lurking in ambush.
13   Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
    Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14   from men by your hand, O LORD,
    from men of the world whose portion is in this life.²
  You fill their womb with treasure;³
    they are satisfied with children,
    and they leave their abundance to their infants.
15   As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
    when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

(ESV)

1 Samuel 4 (Listen)

The Philistines Capture the Ark

4 And the word of Samuel came to all Israel.

Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the LORD defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the LORD here from Shiloh, that it¹ may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the LORD of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the LORD came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded. 6 And when the Philistines heard the noise of the shouting, they said, “What does this great shouting in the camp of the Hebrews mean?” And when they learned that the ark of the LORD had come to the camp, 7 the Philistines were afraid, for they said, “A god has come into the camp.” And they said, “Woe to us! For nothing like this has happened before. 8 Woe to us! Who can deliver us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every sort of plague in the wilderness. 9 Take courage, and be men, O Philistines, lest you become slaves to the Hebrews as they have been to you; be men and fight.”

10 So the Philistines fought, and Israel was defeated, and they fled, every man to his home. And there was a very great slaughter, for thirty thousand foot soldiers of Israel fell. 11 And the ark of God was captured, and the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, died.

The Death of Eli

12 A man of Benjamin ran from the battle line and came to Shiloh the same day, with his clothes torn and with dirt on his head. 13 When he arrived, Eli was sitting on his seat by the road watching, for his heart trembled for the ark of God. And when the man came into the city and told the news, all the city cried out. 14 When Eli heard the sound of the outcry, he said, “What is this uproar?” Then the man hurried and came and told Eli. 15 Now Eli was ninety-eight years old and his eyes were set so that he could not see. 16 And the man said to Eli, “I am he who has come from the battle; I fled from the battle today.” And he said, “How did it go, my son?” 17 He who brought the news answered and said, “Israel has fled before the Philistines, and there has also been a great defeat among the people. Your two sons also, Hophni and Phinehas, are dead, and the ark of God has been captured.” 18 As soon as he mentioned the ark of God, Eli fell over backward from his seat by the side of the gate, and his neck was broken and he died, for the man was old and heavy. He had judged Israel forty years.

19 Now his daughter-in-law, the wife of Phinehas, was pregnant, about to give birth. And when she heard the news that the ark of God was captured, and that her father-in-law and her husband were dead, she bowed and gave birth, for her pains came upon her. 20 And about the time of her death the women attending her said to her, “Do not be afraid, for you have borne a son.” But she did not answer or pay attention. 21 And she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed² from Israel!” because the ark of God had been captured and because of her father-in-law and her husband. 22 And she said, “The glory has departed from Israel, for the ark of God has been captured.”

(ESV)

Jeremiah 49 (Listen)

Judgment on Ammon

49 Concerning the Ammonites.

Thus says the LORD:

  “Has Israel no sons?
    Has he no heir?
  Why then has Milcom¹ dispossessed Gad,
    and his people settled in its cities?
2   Therefore, behold, the days are coming,
    declares the LORD,
  when I will cause the battle cry to be heard
    against Rabbah of the Ammonites;
  it shall become a desolate mound,
    and its villages shall be burned with fire;
  then Israel shall dispossess those who dispossessed him,
    says the LORD.
3   “Wail, O Heshbon, for Ai is laid waste!
    Cry out, O daughters of Rabbah!
  Put on sackcloth,
    lament, and run to and fro among the hedges!
  For Milcom shall go into exile,
    with his priests and his officials.
4   Why do you boast of your valleys,²
    O faithless daughter,
  who trusted in her treasures, saying,
    ‘Who will come against me?’
5   Behold, I will bring terror upon you,
    declares the Lord GOD of hosts,
    from all who are around you,
  and you shall be driven out, every man straight before him,
    with none to gather the fugitives.

6 “But afterward I will restore the fortunes of the Ammonites, declares the LORD.”

Judgment on Edom

7 Concerning Edom.

Thus says the LORD of hosts:

  “Is wisdom no more in Teman?
    Has counsel perished from the prudent?
    Has their wisdom vanished?
8   Flee, turn back, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of Dedan!
  For I will bring the calamity of Esau upon him,
    the time when I punish him.
9   If grape gatherers came to you,
    would they not leave gleanings?
  If thieves came by night,
    would they not destroy only enough for themselves?
10   But I have stripped Esau bare;
    I have uncovered his hiding places,
    and he is not able to conceal himself.
  His children are destroyed, and his brothers,
    and his neighbors; and he is no more.
11   Leave your fatherless children; I will keep them alive;
    and let your widows trust in me.”

12 For thus says the LORD: “If those who did not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, will you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, but you must drink. 13 For I have sworn by myself, declares the LORD, that Bozrah shall become a horror, a taunt, a waste, and a curse, and all her cities shall be perpetual wastes.”

14   I have heard a message from the LORD,
    and an envoy has been sent among the nations:
  “Gather yourselves together and come against her,
    and rise up for battle!
15   For behold, I will make you small among the nations,
    despised among mankind.
16   The horror you inspire has deceived you,
    and the pride of your heart,
  you who live in the clefts of the rock,³
    who hold the height of the hill.
  Though you make your nest as high as the eagle’s,
    I will bring you down from there,
      declares the LORD.

17 “Edom shall become a horror. Everyone who passes by it will be horrified and will hiss because of all its disasters. 18 As when Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring cities were overthrown, says the LORD, no man shall dwell there, no man shall sojourn in her. 19 Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him⁴ run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore hear the plan that the LORD has made against Edom and the purposes that he has formed against the inhabitants of Teman: Even the little ones of the flock shall be dragged away. Surely their fold shall be appalled at their fate. 21 At the sound of their fall the earth shall tremble; the sound of their cry shall be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, one shall mount up and fly swiftly like an eagle and spread his wings against Bozrah, and the heart of the warriors of Edom shall be in that day like the heart of a woman in her birth pains.”

Judgment on Damascus

23 Concerning Damascus:

  “Hamath and Arpad are confounded,
    for they have heard bad news;
  they melt in fear,
    they are troubled like the sea that cannot be quiet.
24   Damascus has become feeble, she turned to flee,
    and panic seized her;
  anguish and sorrows have taken hold of her,
    as of a woman in labor.
25   How is the famous city not forsaken,
    the city of my joy?
26   Therefore her young men shall fall in her squares,
    and all her soldiers shall be destroyed in that day,
      declares the LORD of hosts.
27   And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.”

Judgment on Kedar and Hazor

28 Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck down.

  Thus says the LORD:
  “Rise up, advance against Kedar!
    Destroy the people of the east!
29   Their tents and their flocks shall be taken,
    their curtains and all their goods;
  their camels shall be led away from them,
    and men shall cry to them: ‘Terror on every side!’
30   Flee, wander far away, dwell in the depths,
    O inhabitants of Hazor!
      declares the LORD.
  For Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
    has made a plan against you
    and formed a purpose against you.
31   “Rise up, advance against a nation at ease,
    that dwells securely,
      declares the LORD,
  that has no gates or bars,
    that dwells alone.
32   Their camels shall become plunder,
    their herds of livestock a spoil.
  I will scatter to every wind
    those who cut the corners of their hair,
  and I will bring their calamity
    from every side of them,
      declares the LORD.
33   Hazor shall become a haunt of jackals,
    an everlasting waste;
  no man shall dwell there;
    no man shall sojourn in her.”

Judgment on Elam

34 The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet concerning Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah.

35 Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the mainstay of their might. 36 And I will bring upon Elam the four winds from the four quarters of heaven. And I will scatter them to all those winds, and there shall be no nation to which those driven out of Elam shall not come. 37 I will terrify Elam before their enemies and before those who seek their life. I will bring disaster upon them, my fierce anger, declares the LORD. I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them, 38 and I will set my throne in Elam and destroy their king and officials, declares the LORD.

39 “But in the latter days I will restore the fortunes of Elam, declares the LORD.”

(ESV)

Mark 16 (Listen)

The Resurrection

16 When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. 3 And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” 4 And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back—it was very large. 5 And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. 6 And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7 But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” 8 And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

[Some of the earliest manuscripts do not include 16:9–20.]¹

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

9 [[Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it.

Jesus Appears to Two Disciples

12 After these things he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. 13 And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them.

The Great Commission

14 Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they were reclining at table, and he rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. 15 And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. 17 And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God. 20 And they went out and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by accompanying signs.]]

(ESV)