Daily Readings - 01/07/2026

^49:1 Hear this, all nations, pay attention all who live on earth,

^49:2 important people, ordinary people, rich and poor alike!

^49:3 My lips have wisdom to utter, my heart whispers sound sense;

^49:4 I turn my attention to a proverb, and set my solution to the harp.

^49:5 Why should I be afraid in evil times, when malice dogs my steps and hems me in,

^49:6 of men who trust in their wealth and boast of the profusion of their riches?

^49:7 But man could never redeem himself or pay his ransom to God:

^49:8 it costs so much to redeem his life, it is beyond him;

^49:9 how then could he live on for ever and never see the Pit –

^49:10 when all the time he sees that wise men die, that foolish and stupid perish both alike, and leave their fortunes to others.

^49:11 Their tombs are their eternal home, their lasting residence, though they owned estates that bore their names.

^49:12 Man when he prospers forfeits intelligence: he is one with the cattle doomed to slaughter.

^49:13 So on they go with their self-assurance, with men to run after them when they raise their voice. (Pause)

^49:14 Like sheep to be penned in Sheol, Death will herd them to pasture and the upright will have the better of them. Dawn will come and then the show they made will disappear, Sheol the home for them!

^49:15 But God will redeem my life from the grasp of Sheol, and will receive me. (Pause)

^49:16 Do not be afraid when a man grows rich, when the glory of his House increases;

^49:17 when he dies he can take nothing with him, his glory cannot follow him down.

^49:18 The soul he made so happy while he lived – ‘look after yourself and men will praise you’ –

^49:19 will join the company of his ancestors who will never see the light of day again.

^49:20 Man in his prosperity forfeits intelligence: he is one with the cattle doomed to slaughter.

^8:28 When he reached the country of the Gadarenes on the other side, two demoniacs came towards him out of the tombs – creatures so fierce that no one could pass that way.

^8:29 They stood there shouting, ‘What do you want with us, Son of God? Have you come here to torture us before the time?'[*d]

^8:30 Now some distance away there was a large herd of pigs feeding,

^8:31 and the devils pleaded with Jesus, ‘If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs’.

^8:32 And he said to them, ‘Go then’, and they came out and made for the pigs; and at that the whole herd charged down the cliff into the lake and perished in the water.

^8:33 The swineherds ran off and made for the town, where they told the whole story, including what had happened to the demoniacs.

^8:34 At this the whole town set out to meet Jesus; and as soon as they saw him they implored him to leave the neighbourhood.