1 Tishrei, 5785
Rosh Hashanah • Days of Awe

Were they wise, they would think upon this, Gain insight into their future:

“How could one have routed a thousand, Or two put ten thousand to flight, Unless their Rock had sold them, The LORD had given them up?”

For their rock is not like our Rock, In our enemies’ own estimation.

Ah! The vine for them is from Sodom, From the vineyards of Gomorrah; The grapes for them are poison, A bitter growth their clusters.

Their wine is the venom of asps, The pitiless poison of vipers.

Lo, I have it all put away, Sealed up in My storehouses,

To be My vengeance and recompense, At the time that their foot falters. Yea, their day of disaster is near, And destiny rushes upon them.

For the LORD will vindicate His people And take revenge for His servants, When He sees that their might is gone, And neither bond nor free is left.

He will say: Where are their gods, The rock in whom they sought refuge,

Who ate the fat of their offerings And drank their libation wine? Let them rise up to your help, And let them be a shield unto you!

See, then, that I, I am He; There is no god beside Me. I deal death and give life; I wounded and I will heal: None can deliver from My hand.

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

The LORD took note of Sarah as He had promised, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had spoken.

Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken.

Abraham gave his newborn son, whom Sarah had borne him, the name of Isaac.

And when his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him.

Now Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him.

Sarah said, “God has brought me laughter; everyone who hears will laugh with me.”

And she added, “Who would have said to Abraham That Sarah would suckle children! Yet I have borne a son in his old age.”

The child grew up and was weaned, and Abraham held a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned.

Sarah saw the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham playing.

She said to Abraham, “Cast out that slave-woman and her son, for the son of that slave shall not share in the inheritance with my son Isaac.”

The matter distressed Abraham greatly, for it concerned a son of his.

But God said to Abraham, “Do not be distressed over the boy or your slave; whatever Sarah tells you, do as she says, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be continued for you.

As for the son of the slave-woman, I will make a nation of him, too, for he is your seed.”

Early next morning Abraham took some bread and a skin of water, and gave them to Hagar. He placed them over her shoulder, together with the child, and sent her away. And she wandered about in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.

When the water was gone from the skin, she left the child under one of the bushes,

and went and sat down at a distance, a bowshot away; for she thought, “Let me not look on as the child dies.” And sitting thus afar, she burst into tears.

God heard the cry of the boy, and an angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for God has heeded the cry of the boy where he is.

Come, lift up the boy and hold him by the hand, for I will make a great nation of him.”

Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. She went and filled the skin with water, and let the boy drink.

God was with the boy and he grew up; he dwelt in the wilderness and became a bowman.

He lived in the wilderness of Paran; and his mother got a wife for him from the land of Egypt.

At that time Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, said to Abraham, “God is with you in everything that you do.

Therefore swear to me here by God that you will not deal falsely with me or with my kith and kin, but will deal with me and with the land in which you have sojourned as loyally as I have dealt with you.”

And Abraham said, “I swear it.”

Then Abraham reproached Abimelech for the well of water which the servants of Abimelech had seized.

But Abimelech said, “I do not know who did this; you did not tell me, nor have I heard of it until today.”

Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a pact.

Abraham then set seven ewes of the flock by themselves,

and Abimelech said to Abraham, “What mean these seven ewes which you have set apart?”

He replied, “You are to accept these seven ewes from me as proof that I dug this well.”

Hence that place was called Beer-sheba, for there the two of them swore an oath.

When they had concluded the pact at Beer-sheba, Abimelech and Phicol, chief of his troops, departed and returned to the land of the Philistines.

[Abraham] planted a tamarisk at Beer-sheba, and invoked there the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.

And Abraham resided in the land of the Philistines a long time.

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

In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations. You shall observe it as a day when the horn is sounded.

You shall present a burnt offering of pleasing odor to the LORD: one bull of the herd, one ram, and seven yearling lambs, without blemish.

The meal offering with them—choice flour with oil mixed in—shall be: three-tenths of a measure for a bull, two-tenths for a ram,

and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs.

And there shall be one goat for a sin offering, to make expiation in your behalf—

in addition to the burnt offering of the new moon with its meal offering and the regular burnt offering with its meal offering, each with its libation as prescribed, offerings by fire of pleasing odor to the LORD.

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

Could not find title in reference: 1.Samuel.1.1-2.10

Psalms 1

Happy is the man who has not followed the counsel of the wicked, or taken the path of sinners, or joined the company of the insolent; rather, the teaching of the LORD is his delight, and he studies that teaching day and night. He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades, and whatever it produces thrives. Not so the wicked; rather, they are like chaff that wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners, in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD cherishes the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

Psalms 2

Why do nations assemble, and peoples plot vain things; kings of the earth take their stand, and regents intrigue together against the LORD and against His anointed? “Let us break the cords of their yoke, shake off their ropes from us!” He who is enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord mocks at them. Then He speaks to them in anger, terrifying them in His rage, “But I have installed My king on Zion, My holy mountain!” Let me tell of the decree: the LORD said to me, “You are My son, I have fathered you this day. Ask it of Me, and I will make the nations your domain; your estate, the limits of the earth. You can smash them with an iron mace, shatter them like potter’s ware.” So now, O kings, be prudent; accept discipline, you rulers of the earth! Serve the LORD in awe; tremble with fright, pay homage in good faith, lest He be angered, and your way be doomed in the mere flash of His anger. Happy are all who take refuge in Him.

Psalms 3

A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom. O LORD, my foes are so many! Many are those who attack me; many say of me, “There is no deliverance for him through God.”Selah. But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, He who holds my head high. I cry aloud to the LORD, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah. I lie down and sleep and wake again, for the LORD sustains me. I have no fear of the myriad forces arrayed against me on every side. Rise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! For You slap all my enemies in the face; You break the teeth of the wicked. Deliverance is the LORD’s; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

Psalms 4

For the leader; with instrumental music. A psalm of David. Answer me when I call, O God, my vindicator! You freed me from distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer. You men, how long will my glory be mocked, will you love illusions, have recourse to frauds? Selah. Know that the LORD singles out the faithful for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him. So tremble, and sin no more; ponder it on your bed, and sigh. Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in the LORD. Many say, “O for good days!” Bestow Your favor on us, O LORD. You put joy into my heart when their grain and wine show increase. Safe and sound, I lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, keep me secure.

Psalms 5

For the leader; on neḥiloth. A psalm of David. Give ear to my speech, O LORD; consider my utterance. Heed the sound of my cry, my king and God, for I pray to You. Hear my voice, O LORD, at daybreak; at daybreak I plead before You, and wait. For You are not a God who desires wickedness; evil cannot abide with You; wanton men cannot endure in Your sight. You detest all evildoers; You doom those who speak lies; murderous, deceitful men the LORD abhors. But I, through Your abundant love, enter Your house; I bow down in awe at Your holy temple. O LORD, lead me along Your righteous [path] because of my watchful foes; make Your way straight before me. For there is no sincerity on their lips; their heart is [filled with] malice; their throat is an open grave; their tongue slippery. Condemn them, O God; let them fall by their own devices; cast them out for their many crimes, for they defy You. But let all who take refuge in You rejoice, ever jubilant as You shelter them; and let those who love Your name exult in You. For You surely bless the righteous man, O LORD, encompassing him with favor like a shield.

Psalms 6

-For the leader; with instrumental music on the sheminith. A psalm of David. O LORD, do not punish me in anger, do not chastise me in fury. Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I languish; heal me, O LORD, for my bones shake with terror. My whole being is stricken with terror, while You, LORD—O, how long! O LORD, turn! Rescue me! Deliver me as befits Your faithfulness. For there is no praise of You among the dead; in Sheol, who can acclaim You? I am weary with groaning; every night I drench my bed, I melt my couch in tears. My eyes are wasted by vexation, worn out because of all my foes. Away from me, all you evildoers, for the LORD heeds the sound of my weeping. The LORD heeds my plea, the LORD accepts my prayer. All my enemies will be frustrated and stricken with terror; they will turn back in an instant, frustrated.

Psalms 7

Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD, concerning Cush, a Benjaminite. O LORD, my God, in You I seek refuge; deliver me from all my pursuers and save me, lest, like a lion, they tear me apart, rending in pieces, and no one save me. O LORD, my God, if I have done such things, if my hands bear the guilt of wrongdoing, if I have dealt evil to my ally— I who rescued my foe without reward— then let the enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground, and lay my body in the dust. Selah. Rise, O LORD, in Your anger; assert Yourself against the fury of my foes; bestir Yourself on my behalf; You have ordained judgment. Let the assembly of peoples gather about You, with You enthroned above, on high. The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, for the righteousness and blamelessness that are mine. Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; he who probes the mind and conscience is God the righteous. I look to God to shield me; the deliverer of the upright. God vindicates the righteous; God pronounces doom each day. If one does not turn back, but whets his sword, bends his bow and aims it, then against himself he readies deadly weapons, and makes his arrows sharp. See, he hatches evil, conceives mischief, and gives birth to fraud. He has dug a pit and deepened it, and will fall into the trap he made. His mischief will recoil upon his own head; his lawlessness will come down upon his skull. I will praise the LORD for His righteousness, and sing a hymn to the name of the LORD Most High.

Psalms 8

For the leader; on the gittith. A psalm of David. O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name throughout the earth, You who have covered the heavens with Your splendor! From the mouths of infants and sucklings You have founded strength on account of Your foes, to put an end to enemy and avenger. When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars that You set in place, what is man that You have been mindful of him, mortal man that You have taken note of him, that You have made him little less than divine, and adorned him with glory and majesty; You have made him master over Your handiwork, laying the world at his feet, sheep and oxen, all of them, and wild beasts, too; the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, whatever travels the paths of the seas. O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is Your name throughout the earth!

Psalms 9

For the leader; ‘almuth labben. A psalm of David. I will praise You, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell all Your wonders. I will rejoice and exult in You, singing a hymn to Your name, O Most High. When my enemies retreat, they stumble to their doom at Your presence. For You uphold my right and claim, enthroned as righteous judge. You blast the nations; You destroy the wicked; You blot out their name forever. The enemy is no more— ruins everlasting; You have torn down their cities; their very names are lost. But the LORD abides forever; He has set up His throne for judgment; it is He who judges the world with righteousness, rules the peoples with equity. The LORD is a haven for the oppressed, a haven in times of trouble. Those who know Your name trust You, for You do not abandon those who turn to You, O LORD. Sing a hymn to the LORD, who reigns in Zion; declare His deeds among the peoples. For He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted; He who requites bloodshed is mindful of them. Have mercy on me, O LORD; see my affliction at the hands of my foes, You who lift me from the gates of death, so that in the gates of Fair Zion I might tell all Your praise, I might exult in Your deliverance. The nations sink in the pit they have made; their own foot is caught in the net they have hidden. The LORD has made Himself known: He works judgment; the wicked man is snared by his own devices. Higgaion.Selah. Let the wicked be in Sheol, all the nations who ignore God! Not always shall the needy be ignored, nor the hope of the afflicted forever lost. Rise, O LORD! Let not men have power; let the nations be judged in Your presence. Strike fear into them, O LORD; let the nations know they are only men.Selah.

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

The book of the genealogy of Yeshua Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham was the father of Isaac, and Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Yehudah and his brothers, and Yehudah the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, and Perez the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram, and Ram the father of Amminadab, and Amminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon, and Salmon the father of Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David the king.

And David was the father of Solomon by the wife of Uriah, and Solomon the father of Rehoboam, and Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asaph, and Asaph the father of Jehoshaphat, and Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah, and Uzziah the father of Jotham, and Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah, and Hezekiah the father of Manasseh, and Manasseh the father of Amos, and Amos the father of Josiah, and Josiah the father of Jechoniah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon.

And after the deportation to Babylon: Jechoniah was the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel, and Zerubbabel the father of Abiud, and Abiud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor, and Azor the father of Zadok, and Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud, and Eliud the father of Eleazar, and Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Yosef the husband of Miriam, of whom Yeshua was born, who is called Messiah.

So all the generations from Abraham to David were fourteen generations, and from David to the deportation to Babylon fourteen generations, and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah fourteen generations.

Now the birth of Yeshua Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Miriam had been betrothed to Yosef, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Yosef, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Yosef, son of David, do not fear to take Miriam as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Yeshua, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:

  “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,
    and they shall call his name Immanuel”

(which means, God with us). When Yosef woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Yeshua.

(ESV)