Today’s Reading: Zechariah
9 – 12 and Mark 8 (KJV)
Zechariah
9
Zec 9:1 The burden of the word of the LORD in the
land of Hadrach, and Damascus shall be
the rest thereof: when the eyes of man, as of all the tribes of Israel, shall be
toward the LORD.
Zec 9:2 And Hamath also
shall border thereby; Tyrus, and Zidon,
though it be very wise.
Zec 9:3 And Tyrus did build
herself a stronghold, and heaped up silver as the dust, and fine gold as the
mire of the streets.
Zec 9:4 Behold, the Lord will cast her out, and he
will smite her power in the sea; and she shall be devoured with fire.
Zec 9:5 Ashkelon shall see it, and fear; Gaza also shall
see it,
and be very sorrowful, and Ekron; for her expectation
shall be ashamed; and the king shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon shall not
be inhabited.
Zec 9:6 And a bastard shall dwell in Ashdod, and I
will cut off the pride of the Philistines.
Zec 9:7 And I will take away his blood out of his
mouth, and his abominations from between his teeth: but he that remaineth, even he, shall
be for our God, and he shall be as a
governor in Judah, and Ekron as a Jebusite.
Zec 9:8 And I will encamp about mine house because of
the army, because of him that passeth by, and because
of him that returneth: and no oppressor shall pass
through them any more: for now have I seen with mine eyes.
Zec 9:9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O
daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding
upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.
Zec 9:10 And I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim,
and the horse from Jerusalem, and the battle bow shall be cut off: and he shall
speak peace unto the heathen: and his dominion shall
be from sea even
to sea, and from the river even to the
ends of the earth.
Zec 9:11 As for thee also, by the blood of thy
covenant I have sent forth thy prisoners out of the pit wherein is no water.
Zec 9:12 Turn you to the stronghold, ye prisoners of
hope: even today do I declare that I
will render double unto thee;
Zec 9:13 When I have bent Judah for me, filled the bow
with Ephraim, and raised up thy sons, O Zion, against thy sons, O Greece, and
made thee as the sword of a mighty man.
Zec 9:14 And the LORD shall be seen over them, and his
arrow shall go forth as the lightning: and the Lord GOD shall blow the trumpet,
and shall go with whirlwinds of the south.
Zec 9:15 The LORD of hosts shall defend them; and they
shall devour, and subdue with slingstones; and they
shall drink, and make a noise as through
wine; and they shall be filled like bowls, and
as the corners of the altar.
Zec 9:16 And the LORD their God shall save them in
that day as the flock of his people: for they shall
be as
the stones of a crown, lifted up as an ensign upon his land.
Zec 9:17 For how great is
his goodness, and how great is his
beauty! corn shall make the young men cheerful, and new wine the maids.
Zechariah
10
Zec 10:1 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the
latter rain; so the LORD shall make
bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.
Zec 10:2 For the idols have spoken vanity, and the
diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain:
therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was
no shepherd.
Zec 10:3 Mine anger was kindled against the shepherds,
and I punished the goats: for the LORD of hosts hath visited his flock the
house of Judah, and hath made them as his goodly horse in the battle.
Zec 10:4 Out of him came forth the corner, out of him
the nail, out of him the battle bow, out of him every oppressor together.
Zec 10:5 And they shall be as mighty men, which tread down their
enemies in the mire of the streets in
the battle: and they shall fight, because the LORD is
with them, and the riders on horses shall be confounded.
Zec 10:6 And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and
I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they shall
be as though I had not cast them off: for I am
the LORD their God, and will hear them.
Zec 10:7 And they
of Ephraim shall be like a mighty man, and their heart shall rejoice as through
wine: yea, their children shall see it,
and be glad; their heart shall rejoice in the LORD.
Zec 10:8 I will hiss for them, and gather them; for I
have redeemed them: and they shall increase as they have increased.
Zec 10:9 And I will sow them among the people: and
they shall remember me in far countries; and they shall live with their
children, and turn again.
Zec 10:10 I will bring them again also out of the land
of Egypt, and gather them out of Assyria; and I will bring them into the land
of Gilead and Lebanon; and place shall
not be found for them.
Zec 10:11 And he shall pass through the sea with
affliction, and shall smite the waves in the sea, and all the deeps of the
river shall dry up: and the pride of Assyria shall be brought down, and the sceptre
of Egypt shall depart away.
Zec 10:12 And I will strengthen them in the LORD; and
they shall walk up and down in his name, saith the
LORD.
Zechariah
11
Zec 11:1 Open thy doors, O Lebanon, that the fire may
devour thy cedars.
Zec 11:2 Howl, fir tree; for the cedar is fallen;
because the mighty are spoiled: howl, O ye oaks of Bashan; for the forest of
the vintage is come down.
Zec 11:3 There is a voice of the howling of the shepherds; for
their glory is spoiled: a voice of the roaring of young lions; for the pride of
Jordan is spoiled.
Zec 11:4 Thus saith the LORD
my God; Feed the flock of the slaughter;
Zec 11:5 Whose possessors slay them, and hold
themselves not guilty: and they that sell them say, Blessed be the LORD; for I am rich: and their own
shepherds pity them not.
Zec 11:6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of
the land, saith the LORD: but, lo, I will deliver the
men every one into his neighbour’s hand, and into the hand of his king: and
they shall smite the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them.
Zec 11:7 And I will feed the flock of slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. And I took unto me
two staves; the one I called Beauty, and the other I called Bands; and I fed
the flock.
Zec 11:8 Three shepherds also I cut off in one month;
and my soul loathed them, and their soul also abhorred me.
Zec 11:9 Then said I, I will not feed you: that that dieth, let it die; and that that is to be cut off, let it
be cut off; and let the rest eat every one the flesh of another.
Zec 11:10 And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might
break my covenant which I had made with all the people.
Zec 11:11 And it was broken in that day: and so the
poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that it was
the word of the LORD.
Zec 11:12 And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed
for my price thirty pieces of silver.
Zec 11:13 And the LORD said unto me, Cast it unto the
potter: a goodly price that I was prised at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in
the house of the LORD.
Zec 11:14 Then I cut asunder mine other staff, even Bands, that I might break the brotherhood
between Judah and Israel.
Zec 11:15 And the LORD said unto me, Take unto thee yet
the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
Zec 11:16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the
land, which shall not visit those that
be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, nor heal that that is broken, nor
feed that that standeth still: but he shall eat the
flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
Zec 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall
be upon his arm, and upon his right eye:
his arm shall be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened.
Zechariah
12
Zec 12:1 The burden of the word of the LORD for
Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth
forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the
earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
Zec 12:2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of
trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both
against Judah and against Jerusalem.
Zec 12:3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a
burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be
cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against
it.
Zec 12:4 In that day, saith
the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with
madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite
every horse of the people with blindness.
Zec 12:5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their
heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall
be my strength in the LORD of hosts
their God.
Zec 12:6 In that day will I make the governors of
Judah like a hearth of fire among the wood, and like a torch of fire in a
sheaf; and they shall devour all the people round about, on the right hand and
on the left: and Jerusalem shall be inhabited again in her own place, even in Jerusalem.
Zec 12:7 The LORD also shall save the tents of Judah
first, that the glory of the house of David and the glory of the inhabitants of
Jerusalem do not magnify themselves
against Judah.
Zec 12:8 In that day shall the LORD defend the
inhabitants of Jerusalem; and he that is feeble among them at that day shall be
as David; and the house of David shall be as God, as the angel of the LORD before them.
Zec 12:9 And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that
come against Jerusalem.
Zec 12:10 And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon
the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and
they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him,
as one mourneth for his
only son, and shall be in bitterness for
him, as one that is in bitterness for his
firstborn.
Zec 12:11 In that day shall there be a great mourning
in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the
valley of Megiddon.
Zec 12:12 And the land shall mourn, every family apart;
the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of
the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart;
Zec 12:13 The family of the house of Levi apart, and
their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and
their wives apart;
Zec 12:14 All the families that remain, every family
apart, and their wives apart.
Mark 8
Mar
8:1 In those days the multitude being very great,
and having nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples unto him,
and saith unto them,
Mar 8:2 I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now been with me three days, and have nothing to eat:
Mar 8:3 And if I send them away fasting to their own houses, they will faint by the way: for divers of them came from far.
Mar 8:4 And his disciples answered him, From whence
can a man satisfy these men with bread
here in the wilderness?
Mar 8:5 And he asked them, How
many loaves have
ye? And they said, Seven.
Mar 8:6 And he commanded the people to sit down on
the ground: and he took the seven loaves, and gave thanks, and broke, and gave
to his disciples to set before them; and
they did set them before the people.
Mar 8:7 And they had a few small fishes: and he
blessed, and commanded to set them also before them.
Mar 8:8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they
took up of the broken meat that was left
seven baskets.
Mar 8:9 And they that had eaten were about four
thousand: and he sent them away.
Mar 8:10 And straightway he entered into a ship with
his disciples, and came into the parts of Dalmanutha.
Mar 8:11 And the Pharisees came forth, and began to
question with him, seeking of him a sign from heaven, tempting him.
Mar 8:12 And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.
Mar 8:13 And he left them, and entering into the ship
again departed to the other side.
Mar 8:14 Now the
disciples had forgotten to take bread,
neither had they in the ship with them more than one loaf.
Mar 8:15 And he charged them, saying, Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and of the leaven of Herod.
Mar 8:16 And they reasoned among themselves, saying, It is
because we have no bread.
Mar 8:17 And when Jesus knew it, he saith unto them,
Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet, neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened?
Mar 8:18 Having eyes, see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
Mar 8:19 When I broke the five loaves among five thousand, how many
baskets full of fragments took ye up? They say unto him, Twelve.
Mar 8:20 And when the seven among four thousand, how many
baskets full of fragments took ye up? And they said, Seven.
Mar 8:21 And he said unto them, How is it that ye do not understand?
Mar 8:22 And he cometh to Bethsaida: and they bring a
blind man unto him, and besought him to touch him.
Mar 8:23 And he took the blind man by the hand, and
led him out of the town; and when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands
upon him, he asked him if he saw aught.
Mar 8:24 And he looked up, and said, I see men as
trees, walking.
Mar 8:25 After that he put his
hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw
every man clearly.
Mar 8:26 And he sent him away to his house, saying, Neither go into the town, nor tell it to any in the town.
Mar 8:27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into
the towns of Caesarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples, saying
unto them, Whom do
men say that I am?
Mar 8:28 And they answered, John the Baptist: but some
say, Elijah; and others, One of the
prophets.
Mar 8:29 And he saith unto
them, But whom say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him, Thou art the Christ.
Mar 8:30 And he charged them that they should tell no
man of him.
Mar 8:31 And he began to teach them, that the Son of
man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed,
and after three days rise again.
Mar 8:32 And he spake that
saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him.
Mar 8:33 But when he had turned about and looked on
his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men.
Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him
with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever
will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.
Mar 8:36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
Mar 8:37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mar 8:38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.