Today's Readings and Stuff -- Sunday, 02 June 2013
Apologies and all that. Have not really posted anything since March, far too long. I won't bore people with some of the things we've been going through, it has been a hard, bumpy road. Not your problem, but it certainly has created some issues for us. And things seem likely to get even bumpier.
So this morning I will be leading a group as we take up the book of Job. Seems proper, somehow.
Very briefly, this morning's Old Testament text is chapters 7, 8, and 9 in 2nd Chronicles. Solomon's work
1
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Now
when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from
heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the
glory of the LORD filled the house.
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2
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And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD's house.
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3
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And
when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the
glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces
to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD,
saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever.
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4
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Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD.
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5
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And
king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and
an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all the people
dedicated the house of God.
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6
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And
the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments
of music of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD,
because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their
ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel
stood.
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7
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Moreover
Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of
the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat of the peace
offerings, because the brazen altar which Solomon had made was not able
to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat.
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8
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Also
at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with
him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the
river of Egypt.
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9
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And
in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the
dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days.
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10
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And
on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people
away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the
LORD had showed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people.
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11
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Thus
Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king's house: and all
that came into Solomon's heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in
his own house, he prosperously effected.
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12
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And
the LORD appeared to Solomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard
thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of
sacrifice.
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13
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If
I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to
devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people;
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14
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If
my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and
pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I
hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
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15
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Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place.
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16
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For
now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there
for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually.
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17
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And
as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked,
and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my
statutes and my judgments;
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18
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Then
will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have
covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a
man to be ruler in Israel.
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19
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But
if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I
have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship
them;
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20
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Then
will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given
them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast
out of my sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all
nations.
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21
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And
this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that
passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto
this land, and unto this house?
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22
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And
it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their
fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid
hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath
he brought all this evil upon them.
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1
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And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house,
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2
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That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there.
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3
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And Solomon went to Hamathzobah, and prevailed against it.
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4
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And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all the store cities, which he built in Hamath.
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5
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Also he built Bethhoron the upper, and Bethhoron the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars;
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6
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And
Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot
cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to
build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his
dominion.
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7
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As
for all the people that were left of the Hittites, and the Amorites,
and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not
of Israel,
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8
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But
of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the
children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute
until this day.
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9
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But
of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work;
but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his
chariots and horsemen.
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10
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And these were the chief of king Solomon's officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people.
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11
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And
Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David
unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not
dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are
holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come.
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12
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Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he had built before the porch,
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13
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Even
after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment
of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn
feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread,
and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
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14
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And
he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses
of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to
praise and minister before the priests, as the duty of every day
required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had
David the man of God commanded.
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15
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And
they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and
Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures.
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16
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Now
all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of
the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the
LORD was perfected.
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17
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Then went Solomon to Eziongeber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom.
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18
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And
Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that
had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to
Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and
brought them to king Solomon.
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1
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And
when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove
Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company,
and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones:
and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was
in her heart.
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2
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And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not.
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3
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And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built,
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4
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And
the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the
attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and
their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the
LORD; there was no more spirit in her.
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5
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And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom:
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6
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Howbeit
I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it:
and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thy wisdom was not told
me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard.
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7
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Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom.
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8
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Blessed
be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne,
to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to
establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do
judgment and justice.
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9
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And
she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices
great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice
as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon.
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10
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And
the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought
gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones.
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11
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And
the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and
to the king's palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there
were none such seen before in the land of Judah.
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12
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And
king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she
asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned,
and went away to her own land, she and her servants.
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13
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Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold;
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14
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Beside
that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia
and governors of the country brought gold and silver to Solomon.
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15
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And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target.
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16
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And
three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of
gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the
forest of Lebanon.
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17
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Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold.
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18
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And
there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which
were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting
place, and two lions standing by the stays:
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19
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And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom.
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20
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And
all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the
vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none
were of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of
Solomon.
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21
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For
the king's ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every
three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver,
ivory, and apes, and peacocks.
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22
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And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom.
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23
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And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heart.
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24
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And
they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of
gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year
by year.
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25
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And
Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve
thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the
king at Jerusalem.
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26
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And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to the border of Egypt.
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27
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And
the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as
the sycamore trees that are in the low plains in abundance.
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And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands.
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29
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Now
the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written
in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the
Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against Jeroboam the son
of Nebat?
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30
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And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years.
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31
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And
Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David
his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
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This evening's New Testament reading is verses 1-17 in chapter 13 of the Gospel of John,
1
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Now
before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was
come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having
loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
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2
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And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
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3
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Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
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4
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He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
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5
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After
that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples'
feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
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6
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Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?
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7
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Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.
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8
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Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.
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9
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Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
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10
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Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.
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11
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For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.
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12
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So
after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set
down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?
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13
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Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.
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14
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If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.
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15
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For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.
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16
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Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
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17
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If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
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