Psalm 119:169–176

Taw

¹⁶⁹Let my cry come before you, O Lord;
give me understanding according to your word!
¹⁷⁰Let my plea come before you;
deliver me according to your word.
¹⁷¹My lips will pour forth praise,
for you teach me your statutes.
¹⁷²My tongue will sing of your word,
for all your commandments are right.
¹⁷³Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
¹⁷⁴I long for your salvation, O Lord,
and your law is my delight.
¹⁷⁵Let my soul live and praise you,
and let your just decrees help me.
¹⁷⁶I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.

Old Testament Reading Proverbs 3:5–24

⁵Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
⁷Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
⁸It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
⁹Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
¹⁰then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
¹¹My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
¹²for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.

¹³Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
¹⁴for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
¹⁵She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
¹⁶Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
¹⁷Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
¹⁸She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
¹⁹The Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding he established the heavens;
²⁰by his knowledge the deeps broke open,
and the clouds drop down the dew.
²¹My son, do not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
²²and they will be life for your soul
and adornment for your neck.
²³Then you will walk on your way securely,
and your foot will not stumble.
²⁴If you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.

New Testament Reading John 11:38–57

³⁸Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” ⁴⁰Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴²I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” ⁴⁴The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

⁴⁵Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what he did, believed in him, ⁴⁶but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. ⁴⁷So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. ⁴⁸If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” ⁴⁹But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all. ⁵⁰Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” ⁵¹He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, ⁵²and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. ⁵³So from that day on they made plans to put him to death.

⁵⁴Jesus therefore no longer walked openly among the Jews, but went from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim, and there he stayed with the disciples.

⁵⁵Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves. ⁵⁶They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast at all?” ⁵⁷Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if anyone knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.