Night Watch Devotion

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD!
² O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive to the voice of my pleas for mercy!
³ If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.
⁵ I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.
⁷ O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.
⁸ And he will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. (ESV)

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.
¹ Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
² from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
³ for you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy.
⁴ Let me dwell in your tent forever! Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
⁵ For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
⁶ Prolong the life of the king; may his years endure to all generations!
⁷ May he be enthroned forever before God; appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
⁸ So will I ever sing praises to your name, as I perform my vows day after day. (ESV)

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
¹ O LORD, God of my salvation, I cry out day and night before you.
² Let my prayer come before you; incline your ear to my cry!
³ For my soul is full of troubles, and my life draws near to Sheol.
⁴ I am counted among those who go down to the pit; I am a man who has no strength,
⁵ like one set loose among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, like those whom you remember no more, for they are cut off from your hand.
⁶ You have put me in the depths of the pit, in the regions dark and deep.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah
⁸ You have caused my companions to shun me; you have made me a horror to them. I am shut in so that I cannot escape;
⁹ my eye grows dim through sorrow. Every day I call upon you, O LORD; I spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰ Do you work wonders for the dead? Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
¹¹ Is your steadfast love declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹² Are your wonders known in the darkness, or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
¹³ But I, O LORD, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴ O LORD, why do you cast my soul away? Why do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up, I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.
¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me; your dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷ They surround me like a flood all day long; they close in on me together.
¹⁸ You have caused my beloved and my friend to shun me; my companions have become darkness.

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
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.
¹⁹ Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one, and said: “I have granted help to one who is mighty; I have exalted one chosen from the people.
²⁰ I have found David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him,
²¹ so that my hand shall be established with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.
²² The enemy shall not outwit him; the wicked shall not humble him.
²³ I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.
²⁴ My faithfulness and my steadfast love shall be with him, and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
²⁵ I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.
²⁶ He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
²⁷ And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁸ My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.
²⁹ I will establish his offspring forever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
³⁰ If his children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules,
³¹ if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments,
³² then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes,
³³ but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness.
³⁴ I will not violate my covenant or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
³⁵ Once for all I have sworn by my holiness; I will not lie to David.
³⁶ His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as long as the sun before me.
³⁷ Like the moon it shall be established forever, a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah
³⁸ But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed.
³⁹ You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.
⁴⁰ You have breached all his walls; you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
⁴¹ All who pass by plunder him; he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his foes; you have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³ You have also turned back the edge of his sword, and you have not made him stand in battle.
⁴⁴ You have made his splendor to cease and cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵ You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him with shame. Selah
⁴⁶ How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your wrath burn like fire?
⁴⁷ Remember how short my time is! For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
⁴⁸ What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah
⁴⁹ Lord, where is your steadfast love of old, which by your faithfulness you swore to David?
⁵⁰ Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked, and how I bear in my heart the insults of all the many nations,
⁵¹ with which your enemies mock, O LORD, with which they mock the footsteps of your anointed.
⁵² Blessed be the LORD forever! Amen and Amen.

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
¹ Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations.
² Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
³ You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
⁵ You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶ in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers.
⁷ For we are brought to an end by your anger; by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰ The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who considers the power of your anger, and your wrath according to the fear of you?
¹² So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.
¹³ Return, O LORD! How long? Have pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶ Let your work be shown to your servants, and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷ Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands! (ESV)

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.
² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’
¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (ESV)

¹ And the LORD appeared to him by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.
² He lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth
³ and said, “O Lord, if I have found favor in your sight, do not pass by your servant.
⁴ Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,
⁵ while I bring a morsel of bread, that you may refresh yourselves, and after that you may pass on—since you have come to your servant.” So they said, “Do as you have said.”
⁶ And Abraham went quickly into the tent to Sarah and said, “Quick! Three seahs of fine flour! Knead it, and make cakes.”
⁷ And Abraham ran to the herd and took a calf, tender and good, and gave it to a young man, who prepared it quickly.
⁸ Then he took curds and milk and the calf that he had prepared, and set it before them. And he stood by them under the tree while they ate.
⁹ They said to him, “Where is Sarah your wife?” And he said, “She is in the tent.”
¹⁰ The LORD said, “I will surely return to you about this time next year, and Sarah your wife shall have a son.” And Sarah was listening at the tent door behind him.
¹¹ Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years. The way of women had ceased to be with Sarah.
¹² So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, “After I am worn out, and my lord is old, shall I have pleasure?”
¹³ The LORD said to Abraham, “Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?’
¹⁴ Is anything too hard for the LORD? At the appointed time I will return to you, about this time next year, and Sarah shall have a son.”
¹⁵ But Sarah denied it, saying, “I did not laugh,” for she was afraid. He said, “No, but you did laugh.” (ESV)

¹⁴ King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.”
¹⁵ But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
¹⁶ But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.”
¹⁷ For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her.
¹⁸ For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
¹⁹ And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not,
²⁰ for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
²¹ But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.
²² For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.”
²³ And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.”
²⁴ And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.”
²⁵ And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
²⁶ And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her.
²⁷ And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison
²⁸ and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.
²⁹ When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
³⁰ The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught.
³¹ And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat.
³² And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
³³ Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.
³⁴ When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. (ESV)

¹¹ “And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings that one may offer to the LORD.
¹² If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the thanksgiving sacrifice unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of fine flour well mixed with oil.
¹³ With the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving he shall bring his offering with loaves of leavened bread.
¹⁴ And from it he shall offer one loaf from each offering, as a gift to the LORD. It shall belong to the priest who throws the blood of the peace offerings.
¹⁵ And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten on the day of his offering. He shall not leave any of it until the morning.
¹⁶ But if the sacrifice of his offering is a vow offering or a freewill offering, it shall be eaten on the day that he offers his sacrifice, and on the next day what remains of it shall be eaten.
¹⁷ But what remains of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burned up with fire.
¹⁸ If any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offering is eaten on the third day, he who offers it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be credited to him. It is tainted, and he who eats of it shall bear his iniquity.
¹⁹ “Flesh that touches any unclean thing shall not be eaten. It shall be burned up with fire. All who are clean may eat flesh,
²⁰ but the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the LORD’s peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people.
²¹ And if anyone touches an unclean thing, whether human uncleanness or an unclean beast or any unclean detestable creature, and then eats some flesh from the sacrifice of the LORD’s peace offerings, that person shall be cut off from his people.”
²² The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
²³ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, You shall eat no fat, of ox or sheep or goat.
²⁴ The fat of an animal that dies of itself and the fat of one that is torn by beasts may be put to any other use, but on no account shall you eat it.
²⁵ For every person who eats of the fat of an animal of which a food offering may be made to the LORD shall be cut off from his people.
²⁶ Moreover, you shall eat no blood whatever, whether of fowl or of animal, in any of your dwelling places.
²⁷ Whoever eats any blood, that person shall be cut off from his people.”
²⁸ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
²⁹ “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever offers the sacrifice of his peace offerings to the LORD shall bring his offering to the LORD from the sacrifice of his peace offerings.
³⁰ His own hands shall bring the LORD’s food offerings. He shall bring the fat with the breast, that the breast may be waved as a wave offering before the LORD.
³¹ The priest shall burn the fat on the altar, but the breast shall be for Aaron and his sons.
³² And the right thigh you shall give to the priest as a contribution from the sacrifice of your peace offerings.
³³ Whoever among the sons of Aaron offers the blood of the peace offerings and the fat shall have the right thigh for a portion.
³⁴ For the breast that is waved and the thigh that is contributed I have taken from the people of Israel, out of the sacrifices of their peace offerings, and have given them to Aaron the priest and to his sons, as a perpetual due from the people of Israel.
³⁵ This is the portion of Aaron and of his sons from the LORD’s food offerings, from the day they were presented to serve as priests of the LORD.
³⁶ The LORD commanded this to be given them by the people of Israel, from the day that he anointed them. It is a perpetual due throughout their generations.”
³⁷ This is the law of the burnt offering, of the grain offering, of the sin offering, of the guilt offering, of the ordination offering, and of the peace offering,
³⁸ which the LORD commanded Moses on Mount Sinai, on the day that he commanded the people of Israel to bring their offerings to the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai.

¹ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
² “Take Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments and the anointing oil and the bull of the sin offering and the two rams and the basket of unleavened bread.
³ And assemble all the congregation at the entrance of the tent of meeting.”
⁴ And Moses did as the LORD commanded him, and the congregation was assembled at the entrance of the tent of meeting.
⁵ And Moses said to the congregation, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded to be done.”
⁶ And Moses brought Aaron and his sons and washed them with water.
⁷ And he put the coat on him and tied the sash around his waist and clothed him with the robe and put the ephod on him and tied the skillfully woven band of the ephod around him, binding it to him with the band.
⁸ And he placed the breastpiece on him, and in the breastpiece he put the Urim and the Thummim.
⁹ And he set the turban on his head, and on the turban, in front, he set the golden plate, the holy crown, as the LORD commanded Moses.
¹⁰ Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and all that was in it, and consecrated them.
¹¹ And he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.
¹² And he poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron’s head and anointed him to consecrate him.
¹³ And Moses brought Aaron’s sons and clothed them with coats and tied sashes around their waists and bound caps on them, as the LORD commanded Moses.
¹⁴ Then he brought the bull of the sin offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the bull of the sin offering.
¹⁵ And he killed it, and Moses took the blood, and with his finger put it on the horns of the altar around it and purified the altar and poured out the blood at the base of the altar and consecrated it to make atonement for it.
¹⁶ And he took all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat, and Moses burned them on the altar.
¹⁷ But the bull and its skin and its flesh and its dung he burned up with fire outside the camp, as the LORD commanded Moses.
¹⁸ Then he presented the ram of the burnt offering, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
¹⁹ And he killed it, and Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar.
²⁰ He cut the ram into pieces, and Moses burned the head and the pieces and the fat.
²¹ He washed the entrails and the legs with water, and Moses burned the whole ram on the altar. It was a burnt offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering for the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
²² Then he presented the other ram, the ram of ordination, and Aaron and his sons laid their hands on the head of the ram.
²³ And he killed it, and Moses took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
²⁴ Then he presented Aaron’s sons, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobes of their right ears and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the big toes of their right feet. And Moses threw the blood against the sides of the altar.
²⁵ Then he took the fat and the fat tail and all the fat that was on the entrails and the long lobe of the liver and the two kidneys with their fat and the right thigh,
²⁶ and out of the basket of unleavened bread that was before the LORD he took one unleavened loaf and one loaf of bread with oil and one wafer and placed them on the pieces of fat and on the right thigh.
²⁷ And he put all these in the hands of Aaron and in the hands of his sons and waved them as a wave offering before the LORD.
²⁸ Then Moses took them from their hands and burned them on the altar with the burnt offering. This was an ordination offering with a pleasing aroma, a food offering to the LORD.
²⁹ And Moses took the breast and waved it for a wave offering before the LORD. It was Moses’ portion of the ram of ordination, as the LORD commanded Moses.
³⁰ Then Moses took some of the anointing oil and of the blood that was on the altar and sprinkled it on Aaron and his garments, and also on his sons and his sons’ garments. So he consecrated Aaron and his garments, and his sons and his sons’ garments with him.
³¹ And Moses said to Aaron and his sons, “Boil the flesh at the entrance of the tent of meeting, and there eat it and the bread that is in the basket of ordination offerings, as I commanded, saying, ‘Aaron and his sons shall eat it.’
³² And what remains of the flesh and the bread you shall burn up with fire.
³³ And you shall not go outside the entrance of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the days of your ordination are completed, for it will take seven days to ordain you.
³⁴ As has been done today, the LORD has commanded to be done to make atonement for you.
³⁵ At the entrance of the tent of meeting you shall remain day and night for seven days, performing what the LORD has charged, so that you do not die, for so I have been commanded.”
³⁶ And Aaron and his sons did all the things that the LORD commanded by Moses. (ESV)

¹ Now when they drew near to Jerusalem, to Bethphage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of his disciples
² and said to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately as you enter it you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it.
³ If anyone says to you, ‘Why are you doing this?’ say, ‘The Lord has need of it and will send it back here immediately.’”
⁴ And they went away and found a colt tied at a door outside in the street, and they untied it.
⁵ And some of those standing there said to them, “What are you doing, untying the colt?”
⁶ And they told them what Jesus had said, and they let them go.
⁷ And they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their cloaks on it, and he sat on it.
⁸ And many spread their cloaks on the road, and others spread leafy branches that they had cut from the fields.
⁹ And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”
¹¹ And he entered Jerusalem and went into the temple. And when he had looked around at everything, as it was already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve.
¹² On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry.
¹³ And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs.
¹⁴ And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.
¹⁵ And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.
¹⁶ And he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple.
¹⁷ And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.”
¹⁸ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and were seeking a way to destroy him, for they feared him, because all the crowd was astonished at his teaching.
¹⁹ And when evening came they went out of the city.
²⁰ As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.
²¹ And Peter remembered and said to him, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree that you cursed has withered.”
²² And Jesus answered them, “Have faith in God.
²³ Truly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says will come to pass, it will be done for him.
²⁴ Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
²⁵ And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
²⁷ And they came again to Jerusalem. And as he was walking in the temple, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders came to him, (ESV)

Of David.
¹ To you, O LORD, I call; my rock, be not deaf to me, lest, if you be silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy, when I cry to you for help, when I lift up my hands toward your most holy sanctuary.
³ Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.
⁴ Give to them according to their work and according to the evil of their deeds; give to them according to the work of their hands; render them their due reward.
⁵ Because they do not regard the works of the LORD or the work of his hands, he will tear them down and build them up no more.
⁶ Blessed be the LORD! For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him.
⁸ The LORD is the strength of his people; he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹ Oh, save your people and bless your heritage! Be their shepherd and carry them forever. (ESV)

¹ And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.
² He said, “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man.
³ And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’
⁴ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man,
⁵ yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’”
⁶ And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge says.
⁷ And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?
⁸ I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”
⁹ He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt:
¹⁰ “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
¹¹ The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’
¹³ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’
¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
¹⁵ Now they were bringing even infants to him that he might touch them. And when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them.
¹⁶ But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.
¹⁷ Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.”
¹⁸ And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
¹⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.
²⁰ You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’”
²¹ And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.”
²² When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”
²³ But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
²⁴ Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God!
²⁵ For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
²⁶ Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”
²⁷ But he said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
²⁸ And Peter said, “See, we have left our homes and followed you.”
²⁹ And he said to them, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
³⁰ who will not receive many times more in this time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
³¹ And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished.
³² For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon.
³³ And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.”
³⁴ But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.
³⁵ As he drew near to Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging.
³⁶ And hearing a crowd going by, he inquired what this meant.
³⁷ They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”
³⁸ And he cried out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
³⁹ And those who were in front rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
⁴⁰ And Jesus stopped and commanded him to be brought to him. And when he came near, he asked him,
⁴¹ “What do you want me to do for you?” He said, “Lord, let me recover my sight.”
⁴² And Jesus said to him, “Recover your sight; your faith has made you well.”
⁴³ And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God.

¹ He entered Jericho and was passing through.
² And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich.
³ And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature.
⁴ So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way.
⁵ And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.”
⁶ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.
⁷ And when they saw it, they all grumbled, “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”
⁸ And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”
⁹ And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham.
¹⁰ For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
¹¹ As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
¹² He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
¹³ Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’
¹⁴ But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
¹⁵ When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.
¹⁶ The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’
¹⁷ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
¹⁸ And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’
¹⁹ And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
²⁰ Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;
²¹ for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
²² He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
²³ Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
²⁴ And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’
²⁵ And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’
²⁶ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
²⁷ But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
²⁸ And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
²⁹ When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,
³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.
³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”
³² So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.
³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”
³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
³⁶ And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.
³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
³⁸ saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
³⁹ And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
⁴¹ And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
⁴² saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
⁴³ For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side
⁴⁴ and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
⁴⁵ And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold,
⁴⁶ saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”
⁴⁷ And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him,
⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.

¹ One day, as Jesus was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes with the elders came up
² and said to him, “Tell us by what authority you do these things, or who it is that gave you this authority.”
³ He answered them, “I also will ask you a question. Now tell me,
⁴ was the baptism of John from heaven or from man?”
⁵ And they discussed it with one another, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say, ‘Why did you not believe him?’
⁶ But if we say, ‘From man,’ all the people will stone us to death, for they are convinced that John was a prophet.”
⁷ So they answered that they did not know where it came from.
⁸ And Jesus said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.”
⁹ And he began to tell the people this parable: “A man planted a vineyard and let it out to tenants and went into another country for a long while.
¹⁰ When the time came, he sent a servant to the tenants, so that they would give him some of the fruit of the vineyard. But the tenants beat him and sent him away empty-handed.
¹¹ And he sent another servant. But they also beat and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty-handed.
¹² And he sent yet a third. This one also they wounded and cast out.
¹³ Then the owner of the vineyard said, ‘What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.’
¹⁴ But when the tenants saw him, they said to themselves, ‘This is the heir. Let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours.’
¹⁵ And they threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them?
¹⁶ He will come and destroy those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When they heard this, they said, “Surely not!”
¹⁷ But he looked directly at them and said, “What then is this that is written: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’?
¹⁸ Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, and when it falls on anyone, it will crush him.”
¹⁹ The scribes and the chief priests sought to lay hands on him at that very hour, for they perceived that he had told this parable against them, but they feared the people.
²⁰ So they watched him and sent spies, who pretended to be sincere, that they might catch him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the authority and jurisdiction of the governor.
²¹ So they asked him, “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God.
²² Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?”
²³ But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them,
²⁴ “Show me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?” They said, “Caesar’s.”
²⁵ He said to them, “Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
²⁶ And they were not able in the presence of the people to catch him in what he said, but marveling at his answer they became silent.
²⁷ There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,
²⁸ and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother.
²⁹ Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children.
³⁰ And the second
³¹ and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died.
³² Afterward the woman also died.
³³ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
³⁴ And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
³⁵ but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage,
³⁶ for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
³⁷ But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
³⁸ Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
³⁹ Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.”
⁴⁰ For they no longer dared to ask him any question.
⁴¹ But he said to them, “How can they say that the Christ is David’s son?
⁴² For David himself says in the Book of Psalms, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand,
⁴³ until I make your enemies your footstool.”’
⁴⁴ David thus calls him Lord, so how is he his son?”
⁴⁵ And in the hearing of all the people he said to his disciples,
⁴⁶ “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces and the best seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at feasts,
⁴⁷ who devour widows’ houses and for a pretense make long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”

¹ Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box,
² and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.
³ And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them.
⁴ For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
⁵ And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said,
⁶ “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
⁷ And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”
⁸ And he said, “See that you are not led astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.
⁹ And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”
¹⁰ Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.
¹¹ There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.
¹² But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake.
¹³ This will be your opportunity to bear witness.
¹⁴ Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer,
¹⁵ for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.
¹⁶ You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death.
¹⁷ You will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
¹⁸ But not a hair of your head will perish.
¹⁹ By your endurance you will gain your lives.
²⁰ “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near.
²¹ Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it,
²² for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written.
²³ Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people.
²⁴ They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
²⁵ “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves,
²⁶ people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
²⁷ And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.
²⁸ Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”
²⁹ And he told them a parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.
³⁰ As soon as they come out in leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.
³¹ So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.
³² Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all has taken place.
³³ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.
³⁴ “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.
³⁵ For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.
³⁶ But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”
³⁷ And every day he was teaching in the temple, but at night he went out and lodged on the mount called Olivet.
³⁸ And early in the morning all the people came to him in the temple to hear him. (ESV)