Deuteronomy 33, 34, Psalm 119:145~176, Isaiah 60, Matthew 8

Deuteronomy 33, 34,

1 This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death.
 
2 He said: "The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran. He came with myriads of holy ones from the south, from his mountain slopes.
 
3 Surely it is you who love the people; all the holy ones are in your hand. At your feet they all bow down, and from you receive instruction,
 
4 the law that Moses gave us, the possession of the assembly of Jacob.
 
5 He was king over Jeshurun when the leaders of the people assembled, along with the tribes of Israel.
 
6 "Let Reuben live and not die, nor his men be few."
 
7 And this he said about Judah: "Hear, O LORD, the cry of Judah; bring him to his people. With his own hands he defends his cause. Oh, be his help against his foes!"
 
8 About Levi he said: "Your Thummim and Urim belong to the man you favored. You tested him at Massah; you contended with him at the waters of Meribah.
 
9 He said of his father and mother, 'I have no regard for them.' He did not recognize his brothers or acknowledge his own children, but he watched over your word and guarded your covenant.
 
10 He teaches your precepts to Jacob and your law to Israel. He offers incense before you and whole burnt offerings on your altar.
 
11 Bless all his skills, O LORD, and be pleased with the work of his hands. Smite the loins of those who rise up against him; strike his foes till they rise no more."
 
12 About Benjamin he said: "Let the beloved of the LORD rest secure in him, for he shields him all day long, and the one the LORD loves rests between his shoulders."
 
13 About Joseph he said: "May the LORD bless his land with the precious dew from heaven above and with the deep waters that lie below;
 
14 with the best the sun brings forth and the finest the moon can yield;
 
15 with the choicest gifts of the ancient mountains and the fruitfulness of the everlasting hills;
 
16 with the best gifts of the earth and its fullness and the favor of him who dwelt in the burning bush. Let all these rest on the head of Joseph, on the brow of the prince among his brothers.
 
17 In majesty he is like a firstborn bull; his horns are the horns of a wild ox. With them he will gore the nations, even those at the ends of the earth. Such are the ten thousands of Ephraim; such are the thousands of Manasseh."
 
18 About Zebulun he said: "Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out, and you, Issachar, in your tents.
 
19 They will summon peoples to the mountain and there offer sacrifices of righteousness; they will feast on the abundance of the seas, on the treasures hidden in the sand."
 
20 About Gad he said: "Blessed is he who enlarges Gad's domain! Gad lives there like a lion, tearing at arm or head.
 
21 He chose the best land for himself; the leader's portion was kept for him. When the heads of the people assembled, he carried out the LORD's righteous will, and his judgments concerning Israel."
 
22 About Dan he said: "Dan is a lion's cub, springing out of Bashan."
 
23 About Naphtali he said: "Naphtali is abounding with the favor of the LORD and is full of his blessing; he will inherit southward to the lake."
 
24 About Asher he said: "Most blessed of sons is Asher; let him be favored by his brothers, and let him bathe his feet in oil.
 
25 The bolts of your gates will be iron and bronze, and your strength will equal your days.
 
26 "There is no one like the God of Jeshurun, who rides on the heavens to help you and on the clouds in his majesty.
 
27 The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemy before you, saying, 'Destroy him!'
 
28 So Israel will live in safety alone; Jacob's spring is secure in a land of grain and new wine, where the heavens drop dew.
 
29 Blessed are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the LORD ? He is your shield and helper and your glorious sword. Your enemies will cower before you, and you will trample down their high places."

1 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the LORD showed him the whole land-from Gilead to Dan,
 
2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the western sea,
 
3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar.
 
4 Then the LORD said to him, "This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
 
5 And Moses the servant of the LORD died there in Moab, as the LORD had said.
 
6 He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is.
 
7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone.
 
8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.
 
9 Now Joshua son of Nun was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So the Israelites listened to him and did what the LORD had commanded Moses.
 
10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face,
 
11 who did all those miraculous signs and wonders the LORD sent him to do in Egypt-to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land.
 
12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.

Psalm 119:145~176,

145 I call with all my heart; answer me, O LORD, and I will obey your decrees.
 
146 I call out to you; save me and I will keep your statutes.
 
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I have put my hope in your word.
 
148 My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises.
 
149 Hear my voice in accordance with your love; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your laws.
 
150 Those who devise wicked schemes are near, but they are far from your law.
 
151 Yet you are near, O LORD, and all your commands are true.
 
152 Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever.
 
153 Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law.
 
154 Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise.
 
155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek out your decrees.
 
156 Your compassion is great, O LORD; preserve my life according to your laws.
 
157 Many are the foes who persecute me, but I have not turned from your statutes.
 
158 I look on the faithless with loathing, for they do not obey your word.
 
159 See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your love.
 
160 All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal.
 
161 Rulers persecute me without cause, but my heart trembles at your word.
 
162 I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil.
 
163 I hate and abhor falsehood but I love your law.
 
164 Seven times a day I praise you for your righteous laws.
 
165 Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.
 
166 I wait for your salvation, O LORD, and I follow your commands.
 
167 I obey your statutes, for I love them greatly.
 
168 I obey your precepts and your statutes, for all my ways are known to you.
 
169 May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word.
 
170 May my supplication come before you; deliver me according to your promise.
 
171 May my lips overflow with praise, for you teach me your decrees.
 
172 May my tongue sing of your word, for all your commands are righteous.
 
173 May your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
 
174 I long for your salvation, O LORD, and your law is my delight.
 
175 Let me live that I may praise you, and may your laws sustain me.
 
176 I have strayed like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I have not forgotten your commands.

Isaiah 60,

1 "Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
 
2 See, darkness covers the earth and thick darkness is over the peoples, but the LORD rises upon you and his glory appears over you.
 
3 Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
 
4 "Lift up your eyes and look about you: All assemble and come to you; your sons come from afar, and your daughters are carried on the arm.
 
5 Then you will look and be radiant, your heart will throb and swell with joy; the wealth on the seas will be brought to you, to you the riches of the nations will come.
 
6 Herds of camels will cover your land, young camels of Midian and Ephah. And all from Sheba will come, bearing gold and incense and proclaiming the praise of the LORD.
 
7 All Kedar's flocks will be gathered to you, the rams of Nebaioth will serve you; they will be accepted as offerings on my altar, and I will adorn my glorious temple.
 
8 "Who are these that fly along like clouds, like doves to their nests?
 
9 Surely the islands look to me; in the lead are the ships of Tarshish, bringing your sons from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor.
 
10 "Foreigners will rebuild your walls, and their kings will serve you. Though in anger I struck you, in favor I will show you compassion.
 
11 Your gates will always stand open, they will never be shut, day or night, so that men may bring you the wealth of the nations-their kings led in triumphal procession.
 
12 For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly ruined.
 
13 "The glory of Lebanon will come to you, the pine, the fir and the cypress together, to adorn the place of my sanctuary; and I will glorify the place of my feet.
 
14 The sons of your oppressors will come bowing before you; all who despise you will bow down at your feet and will call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy One of Israel.
 
15 "Although you have been forsaken and hated, with no one traveling through, I will make you the everlasting pride and the joy of all generations.
 
16 You will drink the milk of nations and be nursed at royal breasts. Then you will know that I, the LORD, am your Savior, your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.
 
17 Instead of bronze I will bring you gold, and silver in place of iron. Instead of wood I will bring you bronze, and iron in place of stones. I will make peace your governor and righteousness your ruler.
 
18 No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise.
 
19 The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.
 
20 Your sun will never set again, and your moon will wane no more; the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your days of sorrow will end.
 
21 Then will all your people be righteous and they will possess the land forever. They are the shoot I have planted, the work of my hands, for the display of my splendor.
 
22 The least of you will become a thousand, the smallest a mighty nation I am the LORD; in its time I will do this swiftly."

Matthew 8

1 When he came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed him.
 
2 A man with leprosy came and knelt before him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."
 
3 Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately he was cured of his leprosy.
 
4 Then Jesus said to him, "See that you don't tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift Moses commanded, as a testimony to them."
 
5 When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help.
 
6 "Lord," he said, "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering."
 
7 Jesus said to him, "I will go and heal him."
 
8 The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.
 
9 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
 
10 When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.
 
11 I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
 
12 But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
 
13 Then Jesus said to the centurion, "Go! It will be done just as you believed it would." And his servant was healed at that very hour.
 
14 When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.
 
15 He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.
 
16 When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
 
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases."
 
18 When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.
 
19 Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."
 
20 Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
 
21 Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
 
22 But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."
 
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.
 
24 Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.
 
25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
 
26 He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
 
27 The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"
 
28 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.
 
29 "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
 
30 Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding.
 
31 The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs."
 
32 He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water.
 
33 Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men.
 
34 Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.