Evening Devotion

A Psalm of David.
¹ O LORD, I call upon you; hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
² Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
³ Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!
⁴ Do not let my heart incline to any evil, to busy myself with wicked deeds in company with men who work iniquity, and let me not eat of their delicacies!
⁵ Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let my head not refuse it. Yet my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
⁶ When their judges are thrown over the cliff, then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷ As when one plows and breaks up the earth, so shall our bones be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.
⁸ But my eyes are toward you, O GOD, my Lord; in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!
⁹ Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me and from the snares of evildoers!
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely. (ESV)

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
¹ Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone; for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
² Everyone utters lies to his neighbor; with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
³ May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that makes great boasts,
⁴ those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail, our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
⁵ “Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan, I will now arise,” says the LORD; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
⁶ The words of the LORD are pure words, like silver refined in a furnace on the ground, purified seven times.
⁷ You, O LORD, will keep them; you will guard us from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl, as vileness is exalted among the children of man. (ESV)

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;
¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,
¹⁸ praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, (ESV)

⁴ and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”
⁵ And the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.”
⁶ And he returned to him, and behold, he and all the princes of Moab were standing beside his burnt offering.
⁷ And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’
⁸ How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?
⁹ For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations!
¹⁰ Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”
¹¹ And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.”
¹² And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?”
¹³ And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.”
¹⁴ And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.
¹⁵ Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.”
¹⁶ And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.”
¹⁷ And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”
¹⁸ And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor:
¹⁹ God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?
²⁰ Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
²¹ He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The LORD their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them.
²² God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox.
²³ For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’
²⁴ Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”
²⁵ And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.”
²⁶ But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the LORD says, that I must do’?”
²⁷ And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”
²⁸ So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. (ESV)

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. He drew near to Jesus to kiss him,
⁴⁸ but Jesus said to him, “Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss?”
⁴⁹ And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?”
⁵⁰ And one of them struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear.
⁵¹ But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
⁵² Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, “Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs?
⁵³ When I was with you day after day in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
⁵⁴ Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
⁵⁵ And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
⁵⁶ Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”
⁵⁷ But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
⁵⁸ And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
⁵⁹ And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”
⁶⁰ But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
⁶¹ And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
⁶² And he went out and wept bitterly.
⁶³ Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.
⁶⁴ They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?”
⁶⁵ And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.
⁶⁶ When day came, the assembly of the elders of the people gathered together, both chief priests and scribes. And they led him away to their council, and they said,
⁶⁷ “If you are the Christ, tell us.” But he said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe,
⁶⁸ and if I ask you, you will not answer.
⁶⁹ But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God.”
⁷⁰ So they all said, “Are you the Son of God, then?” And he said to them, “You say that I am.”
⁷¹ Then they said, “What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips.” (ESV)

¹⁵ Now Absalom and all the people, the men of Israel, came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
¹⁶ And when Hushai the Archite, David’s friend, came to Absalom, Hushai said to Absalom, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
¹⁷ And Absalom said to Hushai, “Is this your loyalty to your friend? Why did you not go with your friend?”
¹⁸ And Hushai said to Absalom, “No, for whom the LORD and this people and all the men of Israel have chosen, his I will be, and with him I will remain.
¹⁹ And again, whom should I serve? Should it not be his son? As I have served your father, so I will serve you.”
²⁰ Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give your counsel. What shall we do?”
²¹ Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines, whom he has left to keep the house, and all Israel will hear that you have made yourself a stench to your father, and the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
²² So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof. And Absalom went in to his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
²³ Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.

¹ Moreover, Ahithophel said to Absalom, “Let me choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue David tonight.
² I will come upon him while he is weary and discouraged and throw him into a panic, and all the people who are with him will flee. I will strike down only the king,
³ and I will bring all the people back to you as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the life of only one man, and all the people will be at peace.”
⁴ And the advice seemed right in the eyes of Absalom and all the elders of Israel.
⁵ Then Absalom said, “Call Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear what he has to say.”
⁶ And when Hushai came to Absalom, Absalom said to him, “Thus has Ahithophel spoken; shall we do as he says? If not, you speak.”
⁷ Then Hushai said to Absalom, “This time the counsel that Ahithophel has given is not good.”
⁸ Hushai said, “You know that your father and his men are mighty men, and that they are enraged, like a bear robbed of her cubs in the field. Besides, your father is expert in war; he will not spend the night with the people.
⁹ Behold, even now he has hidden himself in one of the pits or in some other place. And as soon as some of the people fall at the first attack, whoever hears it will say, ‘There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Absalom.’
¹⁰ Then even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt with fear, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty man, and that those who are with him are valiant men.
¹¹ But my counsel is that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beersheba, as the sand by the sea for multitude, and that you go to battle in person.
¹² So we shall come upon him in some place where he is to be found, and we shall light upon him as the dew falls on the ground, and of him and all the men with him not one will be left.
¹³ If he withdraws into a city, then all Israel will bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it into the valley, until not even a pebble is to be found there.”
¹⁴ And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, “The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel.” For the LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.
¹⁵ Then Hushai said to Zadok and Abiathar the priests, “Thus and so did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel, and thus and so have I counseled.
¹⁶ Now therefore send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not stay tonight at the fords of the wilderness, but by all means pass over, lest the king and all the people who are with him be swallowed up.’”
¹⁷ Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were waiting at En-rogel. A female servant was to go and tell them, and they were to go and tell King David, for they were not to be seen entering the city.
¹⁸ But a young man saw them and told Absalom. So both of them went away quickly and came to the house of a man at Bahurim, who had a well in his courtyard. And they went down into it.
¹⁹ And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth and scattered grain on it, and nothing was known of it.
²⁰ When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they said, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” And the woman said to them, “They have gone over the brook of water.” And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
²¹ After they had gone, the men came up out of the well, and went and told King David. They said to David, “Arise, and go quickly over the water, for thus and so has Ahithophel counseled against you.”
²² Then David arose, and all the people who were with him, and they crossed the Jordan. By daybreak not one was left who had not crossed the Jordan.
²³ When Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his donkey and went off home to his own city. He set his house in order and hanged himself, and he died and was buried in the tomb of his father.
²⁴ Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel.
²⁵ Now Absalom had set Amasa over the army instead of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Ishmaelite, who had married Abigal the daughter of Nahash, sister of Zeruiah, Joab’s mother.
²⁶ And Israel and Absalom encamped in the land of Gilead.
²⁷ When David came to Mahanaim, Shobi the son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, and Machir the son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim,
²⁸ brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, wheat, barley, flour, parched grain, beans and lentils,
²⁹ honey and curds and sheep and cheese from the herd, for David and the people with him to eat, for they said, “The people are hungry and weary and thirsty in the wilderness.”

¹ Then David mustered the men who were with him and set over them commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds.
² And David sent out the army, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the men, “I myself will also go out with you.”
³ But the men said, “You shall not go out. For if we flee, they will not care about us. If half of us die, they will not care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us. Therefore it is better that you send us help from the city.”
⁴ The king said to them, “Whatever seems best to you I will do.” So the king stood at the side of the gate, while all the army marched out by hundreds and by thousands.
⁵ And the king ordered Joab and Abishai and Ittai, “Deal gently for my sake with the young man Absalom.” And all the people heard when the king gave orders to all the commanders about Absalom.
⁶ So the army went out into the field against Israel, and the battle was fought in the forest of Ephraim.
⁷ And the men of Israel were defeated there by the servants of David, and the loss there was great on that day, twenty thousand men.
⁸ The battle spread over the face of all the country, and the forest devoured more people that day than the sword.
⁹ And Absalom happened to meet the servants of David. Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak, and his head caught fast in the oak, and he was suspended between heaven and earth, while the mule that was under him went on.
¹⁰ And a certain man saw it and told Joab, “Behold, I saw Absalom hanging in an oak.”
¹¹ Joab said to the man who told him, “What, you saw him! Why then did you not strike him there to the ground? I would have been glad to give you ten pieces of silver and a belt.”
¹² But the man said to Joab, “Even if I felt in my hand the weight of a thousand pieces of silver, I would not reach out my hand against the king’s son, for in our hearing the king commanded you and Abishai and Ittai, ‘For my sake protect the young man Absalom.’
¹³ On the other hand, if I had dealt treacherously against his life (and there is nothing hidden from the king), then you yourself would have stood aloof.”
¹⁴ Joab said, “I will not waste time like this with you.” And he took three javelins in his hand and thrust them into the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak.
¹⁵ And ten young men, Joab’s armor-bearers, surrounded Absalom and struck him and killed him.
¹⁶ Then Joab blew the trumpet, and the troops came back from pursuing Israel, for Joab restrained them.
¹⁷ And they took Absalom and threw him into a great pit in the forest and raised over him a very great heap of stones. And all Israel fled every one to his own home.
¹⁸ Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and set up for himself the pillar that is in the King’s Valley, for he said, “I have no son to keep my name in remembrance.” He called the pillar after his own name, and it is called Absalom’s monument to this day. (ESV)

²⁰ At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God’s sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father’s house,
²¹ and when he was exposed, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son.
²² And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.
²³ “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.
²⁴ And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian.
²⁵ He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand.
²⁶ And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’
²⁷ But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?
²⁸ Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
²⁹ At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
³⁰ “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush.
³¹ When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord:
³² ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.
³³ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.
³⁴ I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
³⁵ “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
³⁶ This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years.
³⁷ This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’
³⁸ This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us.
³⁹ Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt,
⁴⁰ saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’
⁴¹ And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands.
⁴² But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets: “‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices, during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
⁴³ You took up the tent of Moloch and the star of your god Rephan, the images that you made to worship; and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’ (ESV)

Of Solomon.
¹ Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!
² May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!
³ Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!
⁴ May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!
⁵ May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!
⁶ May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
⁸ May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
⁹ May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!
¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!
¹¹ May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!
¹² For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.
¹³ He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
¹⁴ From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.
¹⁵ Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!
¹⁶ May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!
¹⁷ May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!
¹⁸ Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.
¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen and Amen!
²⁰ The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended. (ESV)