Dubbisa Har'aa: July 20

[1] The LORD spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying, [2] “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you, the land shall keep a Sabbath to the LORD. [3] For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its fruits, [4] but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard. [5] You shall not reap what grows of itself in your harvest, or gather the grapes of your undressed vine. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. [6] The Sabbath of the land shall provide food for you, for yourself and for your male and female slaves and for your hired worker and the sojourner who lives with you, [7] and for your cattle and for the wild animals that are in your land: all its yield shall be for food.

[8] “You shall count seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, so that the time of the seven weeks of years shall give you forty-nine years. [9] Then you shall sound the loud trumpet on the tenth day of the seventh month. On the Day of Atonement you shall sound the trumpet throughout all your land. [10] And you shall consecrate the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, when each of you shall return to his property and each of you shall return to his clan. [11] That fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you; in it you shall neither sow nor reap what grows of itself nor gather the grapes from the undressed vines. [12] For it is a jubilee. It shall be holy to you. You may eat the produce of the field.

[13] “In this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his property. [14] And if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. [15] You shall pay your neighbor according to the number of years after the jubilee, and he shall sell to you according to the number of years for crops. [16] If the years are many, you shall increase the price, and if the years are few, you shall reduce the price, for it is the number of the crops that he is selling to you. [17] You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God.

[18] “Therefore you shall do my statutes and keep my rules and perform them, and then you will dwell in the land securely. [19] The land will yield its fruit, and you will eat your fill and dwell in it securely. [20] And if you say, ‘What shall we eat in the seventh year, if we may not sow or gather in our crop?’ [21] I will command my blessing on you in the sixth year, so that it will produce a crop sufficient for three years. [22] When you sow in the eighth year, you will be eating some of the old crop; you shall eat the old until the ninth year, when its crop arrives.

[23] “The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me. [24] And in all the country you possess, you shall allow a redemption of the land.

[25] “If your brother becomes poor and sells part of his property, then his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what his brother has sold. [26] If a man has no one to redeem it and then himself becomes prosperous and finds sufficient means to redeem it, [27] let him calculate the years since he sold it and pay back the balance to the man to whom he sold it, and then return to his property. [28] But if he does not have sufficient means to recover it, then what he sold shall remain in the hand of the buyer until the year of jubilee. In the jubilee it shall be released, and he shall return to his property.

[29] “If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city, he may redeem it within a year of its sale. For a full year he shall have the right of redemption. [30] If it is not redeemed within a full year, then the house in the walled city shall belong in perpetuity to the buyer, throughout his generations; it shall not be released in the jubilee. [31] But the houses of the villages that have no wall around them shall be classified with the fields of the land. They may be redeemed, and they shall be released in the jubilee. [32] As for the cities of the Levites, the Levites may redeem at any time the houses in the cities they possess. [33] And if one of the Levites exercises his right of redemption, then the house that was sold in a city they possess shall be released in the jubilee. For the houses in the cities of the Levites are their possession among the people of Israel. [34] But the fields of pastureland belonging to their cities may not be sold, for that is their possession forever.

[35] “If your brother becomes poor and cannot maintain himself with you, you shall support him as though he were a stranger and a sojourner, and he shall live with you. [36] Take no interest from him or profit, but fear your God, that your brother may live beside you. [37] You shall not lend him your money at interest, nor give him your food for profit. [38] I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God.

[39] “If your brother becomes poor beside you and sells himself to you, you shall not make him serve as a slave: [40] he shall be with you as a hired worker and as a sojourner. He shall serve with you until the year of the jubilee. [41] Then he shall go out from you, he and his children with him, and go back to his own clan and return to the possession of his fathers. [42] For they are my servants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt; they shall not be sold as slaves. [43] You shall not rule over him ruthlessly but shall fear your God. [44] As for your male and female slaves whom you may have: you may buy male and female slaves from among the nations that are around you. [45] You may also buy from among the strangers who sojourn with you and their clans that are with you, who have been born in your land, and they may be your property. [46] You may bequeath them to your sons after you to inherit as a possession forever. You may make slaves of them, but over your brothers the people of Israel you shall not rule, one over another ruthlessly.

[1] The word of the LORD came to me: [2] “Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel, who are prophesying, and say to those who prophesy from their own hearts: ‘Hear the word of the LORD!’ [3] Thus says the Lord GOD, Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing! [4] Your prophets have been like jackals among ruins, O Israel. [5] You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD. [6] They have seen false visions and lying divinations. They say, ‘Declares the LORD,’ when the LORD has not sent them, and yet they expect him to fulfill their word. [7] Have you not seen a false vision and uttered a lying divination, whenever you have said, ‘Declares the LORD,’ although I have not spoken?”

[8] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “Because you have uttered falsehood and seen lying visions, therefore behold, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD. [9] My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord GOD. [10] Precisely because they have misled my people, saying, ‘Peace,’ when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a wall, these prophets smear it with whitewash, [11] say to those who smear it with whitewash that it shall fall! There will be a deluge of rain, and you, O great hailstones, will fall, and a stormy wind break out. [12] And when the wall falls, will it not be said to you, ‘Where is the coating with which you smeared it?’ [13] Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: I will make a stormy wind break out in my wrath, and there shall be a deluge of rain in my anger, and great hailstones in wrath to make a full end. [14] And I will break down the wall that you have smeared with whitewash, and bring it down to the ground, so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you shall perish in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the LORD. [15] Thus will I spend my wrath upon the wall and upon those who have smeared it with whitewash, and I will say to you, The wall is no more, nor those who smeared it, [16] the prophets of Israel who prophesied concerning Jerusalem and saw visions of peace for her, when there was no peace, declares the Lord GOD.

[17] “And you, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people, who prophesy out of their own hearts. Prophesy against them [18] and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Woe to the women who sew magic bands upon all wrists, and make veils for the heads of persons of every stature, in the hunt for souls! Will you hunt down souls belonging to my people and keep your own souls alive? [19] You have profaned me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, putting to death souls who should not die and keeping alive souls who should not live, by your lying to my people, who listen to lies.

[20] “Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against your magic bands with which you hunt the souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms, and I will let the souls whom you hunt go free, the souls like birds. [21] Your veils also I will tear off and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand as prey, and you shall know that I am the LORD. [22] Because you have disheartened the righteous falsely, although I have not grieved him, and you have encouraged the wicked, that he should not turn from his evil way to save his life, [23] therefore you shall no more see false visions nor practice divination. I will deliver my people out of your hand. And you shall know that I am the LORD.”

[1] A wise son hears his father’s instruction,
but a scoffer does not listen to rebuke.
[2] From the fruit of his mouth a man eats what is good,
but the desire of the treacherous is for violence.
[3] Whoever guards his mouth preserves his life;
he who opens wide his lips comes to ruin.
[4] The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,
while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.
[5] The righteous hates falsehood,
but the wicked brings shame and disgrace.
[6] Righteousness guards him whose way is blameless,
but sin overthrows the wicked.
[7] One pretends to be rich, yet has nothing;
another pretends to be poor, yet has great wealth.
[8] The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,
but a poor man hears no threat.
[9] The light of the righteous rejoices,
but the lamp of the wicked will be put out.
[10] By insolence comes nothing but strife,
but with those who take advice is wisdom.
[11] Wealth gained hastily will dwindle,
but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
[12] Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.
[13] Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,
but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
[14] The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life,
that one may turn away from the snares of death.
[15] Good sense wins favor,
but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.
[16] Every prudent man acts with knowledge,
but a fool flaunts his folly.
[17] A wicked messenger falls into trouble,
but a faithful envoy brings healing.
[18] Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is honored.
[19] A desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,
but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.
[20] Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,
but the companion of fools will suffer harm.
[21] Disaster pursues sinners,
but the righteous are rewarded with good.
[22] A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,
but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.
[23] The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,
but it is swept away through injustice.
[24] Whoever spares the rod hates his son,
but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.
[25] The righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,
but the belly of the wicked suffers want.

[1] I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church at Cenchreae, [2] that you may welcome her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in whatever she may need from you, for she has been a patron of many and of myself as well.

[3] Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, [4] who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. [5] Greet also the church in their house. Greet my beloved Epaenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in Asia. [6] Greet Mary, who has worked hard for you. [7] Greet Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow prisoners. They are well known to the apostles, and they were in Christ before me. [8] Greet Ampliatus, my beloved in the Lord. [9] Greet Urbanus, our fellow worker in Christ, and my beloved Stachys. [10] Greet Apelles, who is approved in Christ. Greet those who belong to the family of Aristobulus. [11] Greet my kinsman Herodion. Greet those in the Lord who belong to the family of Narcissus. [12] Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord. [13] Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well. [14] Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers who are with them. [15] Greet Philologus, Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas, and all the saints who are with them. [16] Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ greet you.

[17] I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. [18] For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. [19] For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. [20] The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

[21] Timothy, my fellow worker, greets you; so do Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen.

[22] I Tertius, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord.

[23] Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus, greet you.

[25] Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages [26] but has now been disclosed and through the prophetic writings has been made known to all nations, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith—[27] to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.