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First Reading: Genesis Chapter 9 and 10Genesis 9
9:1 Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, "Be fruitful and
increase in number and fill the earth. 2 The fear and dread of you will fall
upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature
that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given
into your hands. 3 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just
as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
4 "But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. 5 And
for your lifeblood I will surely demand an accounting. I will demand an accounting
from every animal. And from each man, too, I will demand an accounting for the
life of his fellow man.
6 "Whoever sheds the blood of man,by man shall his blood be shed;for in
the image of God has God made man.
7 As for you, be fruitful and increase in number; multiply on the earth and
increase upon it."
8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "I now establish my
covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living
creature that was with you the birds, the livestock and all the wild
animals, all those that came out of the ark with you every living creature
on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be
cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy
the earth."
12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between
me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations
to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of
the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth
and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between
me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters
become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds,
I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living
creatures of every kind on the earth."
17 So God said to Noah, "This is the sign of the covenant I have established
between me and all life on the earth."
18 The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham
was the father of Canaan.) 19 These were the three sons of Noah, and from them
came the people who were scattered over the earth.
20 Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. 21 When he drank
some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent. 22 Ham,
the father of Canaan, saw his father's nakedness and told his two brothers outside.
23 But Shem and Japheth took a garment and laid it across their shoulders; then
they walked in backward and covered their father's nakedness. Their faces were
turned the other way so that they would not see their father's nakedness.
24 When Noah awoke from his wine and found out what his youngest son had done
to him, 25 he said,
"Cursed be Canaan!The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers."
26 He also said,
"Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem!May Canaan be the slave of Shem.
27 May God extend the territory of Japheth;may Japheth live in the tents of
Shem,and may Canaan be his slave."
28 After the flood Noah lived 350 years. 29 Altogether, Noah lived 950 years,
and then he died.
Genesis 10
10:1 This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah's sons, who themselves
had sons after the flood.
2 The sons of Japheth:
Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. 3 The sons of Gomer:
Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah. 4 The sons of Javan:
Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim. 5(From these the maritime peoples
spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each
with its own language.)
6 The sons of Ham:
Cush, Mizraim, Put and Canaan. 7 The sons of Cush:
Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah and Sabteca.The sons of Raamah:
Sheba and Dedan.
8 Cush was the father of Nimrod, who grew to be a mighty warrior on the earth.
9 He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; that is why it is said, "Like
Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD." 10 The first centers of his kingdom
were Babylon, Erech, Akkad and Calneh, in Shinar. 11 From that land he went
to Assyria, where he built Nineveh, Rehoboth Ir, Calah 12 and Resen, which is
between Nineveh and Calah; that is the great city.
13 Mizraim was the father of
the Ludites, Anamites, Lehabites, Naphtuhites, 14 Pathrusites, Casluhites (from
whom the Philistines came) and Caphtorites. 15 Canaan was the father of Sidon
his firstborn, and of the Hittites, 16 Jebusites, Amorites, Girgashites, 17
Hivites, Arkites, Sinites, 18 Arvadites, Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite clans scattered 19 and the borders of Canaan reached from
Sidon toward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and
Zeboiim, as far as Lasha.
20 These are the sons of Ham by their clans and languages, in their territories
and nations.
21 Sons were also born to Shem, whose older brother was Japheth; Shem was the
ancestor of all the sons of Eber.
22 The sons of Shem:
Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud and Aram. 23 The sons of Aram:
Uz, Hul, Gether and Meshech. 24 Arphaxad was the father of Shelah, and Shelah
the father of Eber. 25 Two sons were born to Eber:
One was named Peleg, because in his time the earth was divided; his brother
was named Joktan. 26 Joktan was the father of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth,
Jerah, 27 Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, 28 Obal, Abimael, Sheba, 29 Ophir, Havilah
and Jobab. All these were sons of Joktan.
30 The region where they lived stretched from Mesha toward Sephar, in the eastern
hill country.
31 These are the sons of Shem by their clans and languages, in their territories
and nations.
32 These are the clans of Noah's sons, according to their lines of descent,
within their nations. From these the nations spread out over the earth after
the flood.
Matthew 5
5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the
meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for
they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see
God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is
the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say
all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because
great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets
who were before you.
13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness,
how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to
be thrown out and trampled by men.
14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put
it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same
way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in heaven.
17 "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I
have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 I tell you the truth,
until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke
of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.
19 Anyone who breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others
to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices
and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20
For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees
and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
21 "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder,
and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22 But I tell you that
anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone
who says to his brother, 'Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone
who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
23 "Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember
that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front
of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer
your gift.
25 "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court.
Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the
judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown
into prison. 26 I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid
the last penny.
27 "You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' 28 But I
tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery
with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out
and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for
your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you
to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part
of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
31 "It has been said, 'Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate
of divorce.' 32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for
marital unfaithfulness, causes her to become an adulteress, and anyone who marries
the divorced woman commits adultery.
33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do
not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' 34 But I
tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35
or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city
of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even
one hair white or black. 37 Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No';
anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
38 "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'
39 But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the
right cheek, turn to him the other also. 40 And if someone wants to sue you
and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. 41 If someone forces you
to go one mile, go with him two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and
do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your
enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute
you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to
rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the
tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are
you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
GENESIS
Part 2 of 4
Genesis basically can be divided into two parts:
The first division records four outstanding events:EARLY HISTORY - Chapters 1 to 11
PATRIARCHAL HISTORY - Chapters 12 to 50
The Creation The Fall of Man The Flood The Confusing of Tongues (Tower of Babel)
Patriarchal history is concerned with four outstanding individuals:
Abraham Isaac Jacob Joseph
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