3 Tammuz, 5784

and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

“You and your brother Aaron take the rod and assemble the community, and before their very eyes order the rock to yield its water. Thus you shall produce water for them from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their beasts.”

Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as He had commanded him.

Moses and Aaron assembled the congregation in front of the rock; and he said to them, “Listen, you rebels, shall we get water for you out of this rock?”

And Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod. Out came copious water, and the community and their beasts drank.

But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust Me enough to affirm My sanctity in the sight of the Israelite people, therefore you shall not lead this congregation into the land that I have given them.”

Those are the Waters of Meribah—meaning that the Israelites quarrelled with the LORD—through which He affirmed His sanctity.

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS
Copyright: JPS, 1985

Psalms 18

For the leader. Of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD after the LORD had saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the clutches of Saul. He said: I adore you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my crag, my fortress, my rescuer, my God, my rock in whom I seek refuge, my shield, my mighty champion, my haven. All praise! I called on the LORD and was delivered from my enemies. Ropes of Death encompassed me; torrents of Belial terrified me; ropes of Sheol encircled me; snares of Death confronted me. In my distress I called on the LORD, cried out to my God; in His temple He heard my voice; my cry to Him reached His ears. Then the earth rocked and quaked; the foundations of the mountains shook, rocked by His indignation; smoke went up from His nostrils, from His mouth came devouring fire; live coals blazed forth from Him. He bent the sky and came down, thick cloud beneath His feet. He mounted a cherub and flew, gliding on the wings of the wind. He made darkness His screen; dark thunderheads, dense clouds of the sky were His pavilion round about Him. Out of the brilliance before Him, hail and fiery coals pierced His clouds. Then the LORD thundered from heaven, the Most High gave forth His voice— hail and fiery coals. He let fly His shafts and scattered them; He discharged lightning and routed them. The ocean bed was exposed; the foundations of the world were laid bare by Your mighty roaring, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils. He reached down from on high, He took me; He drew me out of the mighty waters; He saved me from my fierce enemy, from foes too strong for me. They confronted me on the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support. He brought me out to freedom; He rescued me because He was pleased with me. The LORD rewarded me according to my merit; He requited the cleanness of my hands; for I have kept to the ways of the LORD, and have not been guilty before my God; for I am mindful of all His rules; I have not disregarded His laws. I have been blameless toward Him, and have guarded myself against sinning; and the LORD has requited me according to my merit, the cleanness of my hands in His sight. With the loyal, You deal loyally; with the blameless man, blamelessly. With the pure, You act purely, and with the perverse, You are wily. It is You who deliver lowly folk, but haughty eyes You humble. It is You who light my lamp; the LORD, my God, lights up my darkness. With You, I can rush a barrier; with my God I can scale a wall; the way of God is perfect; the word of the LORD is pure; He is a shield to all who seek refuge in Him. Truly, who is a god except the LORD, who is a rock but our God?— the God who girded me with might, who made my way perfect; who made my legs like a deer’s, and let me stand firm on the heights; who trained my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze. You have given me the shield of Your protection; Your right hand has sustained me, Your care has made me great. You have let me stride on freely; my feet have not slipped. I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till I destroyed them. I struck them down, and they could rise no more; they lay fallen at my feet. You have girded me with strength for battle, brought my adversaries low before me, made my enemies turn tail before me; I wiped out my foes. They cried out, but there was none to deliver; [cried] to the LORD, but He did not answer them. I ground them fine as windswept dust; I trod them flat as dirt of the streets. You have rescued me from the strife of people; You have set me at the head of nations; peoples I knew not must serve me. At the mere report of me they are submissive; foreign peoples cower before me; foreign peoples lose courage, and come trembling out of their strongholds. The LORD lives! Blessed is my rock! Exalted be God, my deliverer, the God who has vindicated me and made peoples subject to me, who rescued me from my enemies, who raised me clear of my adversaries, saved me from lawless men. For this I sing Your praise among the nations, LORD, and hymn Your name: He accords great victories to His king, keeps faith with His anointed, with David and his offspring forever.

Psalms 19

For the leader. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky proclaims His handiwork. Day to day makes utterance, night to night speaks out. There is no utterance, there are no words, whose sound goes unheard. Their voice carries throughout the earth, their words to the end of the world. He placed in them a tent for the sun, who is like a groom coming forth from the chamber, like a hero, eager to run his course. His rising-place is at one end of heaven, and his circuit reaches the other; nothing escapes his heat. The teaching of the LORD is perfect, renewing life; the decrees of the LORD are enduring, making the simple wise; The precepts of the LORD are just, rejoicing the heart; the instruction of the LORD is lucid, making the eyes light up. The fear of the LORD is pure, abiding forever; the judgments of the LORD are true, righteous altogether, more desirable than gold, than much fine gold; sweeter than honey, than drippings of the comb. Your servant pays them heed; in obeying them there is much reward. Who can be aware of errors? Clear me of unperceived guilt, and from willful sins keep Your servant; let them not dominate me; then shall I be blameless and clear of grave offense. May the words of my mouth and the prayer of my heart be acceptable to You, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalms 20

For the leader. A psalm of David. May the LORD answer you in time of trouble, the name of Jacob’s God keep you safe. May He send you help from the sanctuary, and sustain you from Zion. May He receive the tokens of all your meal offerings, and approve your burnt offerings.Selah. May He grant you your desire, and fulfill your every plan. May we shout for joy in your victory, arrayed by standards in the name of our God. May the LORD fulfill your every wish. Now I know that the LORD will give victory to His anointed, will answer him from His heavenly sanctuary with the mighty victories of His right arm. They [call] on chariots, they [call] on horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God. They collapse and lie fallen, but we rally and gather strength. O LORD, grant victory! May the King answer us when we call.

Psalms 21

For the leader. A psalm of David. O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength; how greatly he exults in Your victory! You have granted him the desire of his heart, have not denied the request of his lips. Selah. You have proffered him blessings of good things, have set upon his head a crown of fine gold. He asked You for life; You granted it; a long life, everlasting. Great is his glory through Your victory; You have endowed him with splendor and majesty. You have made him blessed forever, gladdened him with the joy of Your presence. For the king trusts in the LORD; Through the faithfulness of the Most High he will not be shaken. Your hand is equal to all Your enemies; Your right hand overpowers Your foes. You set them ablaze like a furnace when You show Your presence. The LORD in anger destroys them; fire consumes them. You wipe their offspring from the earth, their issue from among men. For they schemed against You; they laid plans, but could not succeed. For You make them turn back by Your bows aimed at their face. Be exalted, O LORD, through Your strength; we will sing and chant the praises of Your mighty deeds.

Psalms 22

For the leader; on ayyeleth ha-shaḥar. A psalm of David. My God, my God, why have You abandoned me; why so far from delivering me and from my anguished roaring? My God, I cry by day—You answer not; by night, and have no respite. But You are the Holy One, enthroned, the Praise of Israel. In You our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You rescued them. To You they cried out and they escaped; in You they trusted and were not disappointed. But I am a worm, less than human; scorned by men, despised by people. All who see me mock me; they curl their lips, they shake their heads. “Let him commit himself to the LORD; let Him rescue him, let Him save him, for He is pleased with him.” You drew me from the womb, made me secure at my mother’s breast. I became Your charge at birth; from my mother’s womb You have been my God. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. Many bulls surround me, mighty ones of Bashan encircle me. They open their mouths at me like tearing, roaring lions. My life ebbs away: all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me; my vigor dries up like a shard; my tongue cleaves to my palate; You commit me to the dust of death. Dogs surround me; a pack of evil ones closes in on me, like lions [they maul] my hands and feet. I take the count of all my bones while they look on and gloat. They divide my clothes among themselves, casting lots for my garments. But You, O LORD, be not far off; my strength, hasten to my aid. Save my life from the sword, my precious life from the clutches of a dog. Deliver me from a lion’s mouth; from the horns of wild oxen rescue me. Then will I proclaim Your fame to my brethren, praise You in the congregation. You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, honor Him! Be in dread of Him, all you offspring of Israel! For He did not scorn, He did not spurn the plea of the lowly; He did not hide His face from him; when he cried out to Him, He listened. Because of You I offer praise in the great congregation; I pay my vows in the presence of His worshipers. Let the lowly eat and be satisfied; let all who seek the LORD praise Him. Always be of good cheer! Let all the ends of the earth pay heed and turn to the LORD, and the peoples of all nations prostrate themselves before You; for kingship is the LORD’s and He rules the nations. All those in full vigor shall eat and prostrate themselves; all those at death’s door, whose spirits flag, shall bend the knee before Him. Offspring shall serve Him; the Lord’s fame shall be proclaimed to the generation to come; they shall tell of His beneficence to people yet to be born, for He has acted.

Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures, published by JPS
Copyright: JPS, 1985

In those days Yochanan the immerser came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah when he said,

  “The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
  ‘Prepare the way of the Lord;
    make his paths straight.’”

Now Yochanan wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, and they were immersed by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his immersion, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

“I immerse you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will immerse you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.”

Then Yeshua came from Galilee to the Jordan to Yochanan, to be immersed by him. Yochanan would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be immersed by you, and do you come to me?” But Yeshua answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. And when Yeshua was immersed, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

(ESV)