Jeremiah 31:7-14

English Standard Version

⁷For thus says the Lord:
^(A)“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
    and raise shouts for ^(B)the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
    ^(C)‘O Lord, save your people,
    the remnant of Israel.’
⁸Behold, I will bring them ^(D)from the north country
    and ^(E)gather them from ^(F)the farthest parts of the earth,
among them ^(G)the blind and the lame,
    the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;
    a great company, they shall return here.
⁹^(H)With weeping they shall come,
    ^(I)and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them ^(J)walk by brooks of water,
    ^(K)in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for ^(L)I am a father to Israel,
    and Ephraim is ^(M)my firstborn.

¹⁰“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
    and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will ^(N)gather him,
    and will keep him ^(O)as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
¹¹^(P)For the Lord has ransomed Jacob
    and has redeemed him from ^(Q)hands too strong for him.
¹²They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
    ^(R)and they shall be radiant ^(S)over the goodness of the Lord,
^(T)over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
    and over the young of the flock and the herd;
^(U)their life shall be like a watered garden,
    ^(V)and they shall languish no more.
¹³^(W)Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
    and the young men and the old shall be merry.
^(X)I will turn their mourning into joy;
    I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
¹⁴^(Y)I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance,
    and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness,
declares the Lord.”

Read full chapter

Psalm 84

English Standard Version

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(A)The Gittith.^[a] A Psalm of ^(B)the Sons of Korah.

84 How ^(C)lovely is your ^(D)dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
²My soul ^(E)longs, yes, ^(F)faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to ^(G)the living God.

³Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    ^(H)my King and my God.
⁴^(I)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(J)singing your praise! Selah

⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    ^(K)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[b]
⁶As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    ^(L)the early rain also covers it with ^(M)pools.
⁷They go ^(N)from strength to strength;
    each one ^(O)appears before God in Zion.

⁸O ^(P)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹^(Q)Behold our ^(R)shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

¹⁰For a day ^(S)in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be ^(T)a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the Lord God is ^(U)a sun and ^(V)shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
^(W)No good thing does he withhold
    from those who ^(X)walk uprightly.
¹²O Lord of hosts,
    ^(Y)blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Footnotes

Psalm 84:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 84:5 Hebrew lacks to Zion

Ephesians 1:3-14

English Standard Version

Spiritual Blessings in Christ

³^(A)Blessed be ^(B)the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing ^(C)in the heavenly places, ⁴^(D)even as he ^(E)chose us in him ^(F)before the foundation of the world, that we should be ^(G)holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵^(H)he predestined us^[a] for ^(I)adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, ^(J)according to the purpose of his will, ⁶^(K)to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in ^(L)the Beloved. ⁷^(M)In him we have ^(N)redemption ^(O)through his blood, ^(P)the forgiveness of our trespasses, ^(Q)according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹^(R)making known^[b] to us the mystery of his will, ^(S)according to his purpose, which he ^(T)set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for ^(U)the fullness of time, ^(V)to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

¹¹In him we have obtained ^(W)an inheritance, ^(X)having been predestined ^(Y)according to the purpose of him who works all things according to ^(Z)the counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be ^(AA)to the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you heard ^(AB)the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, ^(AC)were sealed with the ^(AD)promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is ^(AE)the guarantee^[c] of our ^(AF)inheritance until ^(AG)we acquire ^(AH)possession of it,^[d] ^(AI)to the praise of his glory.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

Ephesians 1:5 Or before him in love, ⁵having predestined us
Ephesians 1:9 Or he lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known…
Ephesians 1:14 Or down payment
Ephesians 1:14 Or until God redeems his possession

Matthew 2:13-23

English Standard Version

The Flight to Egypt

¹³Now when they had departed, behold, ^(A)an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” ¹⁴And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt ¹⁵and remained there until the death of Herod. ^(B)This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, ^(C)“Out of Egypt I called my son.”

Herod Kills the Children

¹⁶Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. ¹⁷^(D)Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah:

¹⁸^(E)“A voice was heard in Ramah,
weeping and loud lamentation,
Rachel weeping for her children;
she refused to be comforted, because they ^(F)are no more.”

The Return to Nazareth

¹⁹But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, ²⁰saying, “Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for ^(G)those who sought the child's life are dead.” ²¹And he rose and took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. ²²But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there, and ^(H)being warned in a dream he withdrew to the district of Galilee. ²³And he went and lived in a city called ^(I)Nazareth, ^(J)so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.

Read full chapter

Matthew 2:1-12

English Standard Version

The Visit of the Wise Men

2 Now ^(A)after Jesus was born in ^(B)Bethlehem of Judea ^(C)in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men^[a] from ^(D)the east came to Jerusalem, ²saying, “Where is he who has been born ^(E)king of the Jews? For we saw ^(F)his star when it rose^[b] and have come to ^(G)worship him.” ³When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him; ⁴and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where ^(H)the Christ was to be born. ⁵They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet:

⁶^(I)“‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a ruler
who will ^(J)shepherd my people Israel.’”

⁷Then Herod summoned the wise men secretly and ascertained from them what time the star had appeared. ⁸And he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word, that I too may come and worship him.” ⁹After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Then, opening their treasures, ^(K)they offered him gifts, ^(L)gold and ^(M)frankincense and ^(N)myrrh. ¹²And ^(O)being warned ^(P)in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way.