Family Proclamations & Blessing

⁴Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is One. ⁵And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. ⁶These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. ⁷And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.

¹⁴Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; cast aside the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. ¹⁵But if it is unpleasing in your sight to serve the LORD, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD!”

¹⁷But from everlasting to everlasting the loving devotion of the LORD extends to those who fear Him, and His righteousness to their children’s children— ¹⁸to those who keep His covenant and remember to obey His precepts.

¹A song of ascents. Of Solomon. Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain; unless the LORD protects the city, its watchmen stand guard in vain. ²In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for bread to eat—for He gives sleep to His beloved. ³Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the womb is His reward. ⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children born in one’s youth. ⁵Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. He will not be put to shame when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

¹³Then all your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be their prosperity.

¹Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ²“Honor your father and mother” (which is the first commandment with a promise), ³“that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on the earth.” ⁴Fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath; instead, bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

¹⁷And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? ¹⁸Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and through him all the nations of the earth will be blessed. ¹⁹For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, in order that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has promised.”

²⁶“Please, my lord,” said Hannah, “as surely as you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you praying to the LORD. ²⁷I prayed for this boy, and since the LORD has granted me what I asked of Him, ²⁸I now dedicate the boy to the LORD. For as long as he lives, he is dedicated to the LORD.” So they worshiped the LORD there.

¹A Maskil of Asaph. Give ear, O my people, to my instruction; listen to the words of my mouth. ²I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning, ³that we have heard and known and our fathers have relayed to us. ⁴We will not hide them from their children but will declare to the next generation the praises of the LORD and His might and the wonders He has performed. ⁵For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers to teach to their children, ⁶that the coming generation would know them—even children yet to be born—to arise and tell their own children ⁷that they should put their confidence in God, not forgetting His works, but keeping His commandments. ⁸Then they will not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, whose heart was not loyal, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

¹Hallelujah! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments. ²His descendants will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.

¹A song of ascents. Blessed are all who fear the LORD, who walk in His ways! ²For when you eat the fruit of your labor, blessings and prosperity will be yours. ³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine flourishing within your house, your sons like olive shoots sitting around your table. ⁴In this way indeed shall blessing come to the man who fears the LORD. ⁵May the LORD bless you from Zion, that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life, ⁶that you may see your children’s children. Peace be upon Israel!

⁸Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. ⁹For they are a garland of grace on your head and a pendant around your neck.

¹Every wise woman builds her house, but a foolish one tears it down with her own hands.

⁶Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of a son is his father.

⁶Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

⁵Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and awesome Day of the LORD. ⁶And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers. Otherwise, I will come and strike the land with a curse.”

⁴Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ ⁵and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ⁶So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

¹³Now people were bringing the little children to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them, and the disciples rebuked those who brought them. ¹⁴But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and told them, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. ¹⁵Truly I tell you, anyone who does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” ¹⁶And He took the children in His arms, placed His hands on them, and blessed them.

³⁸Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹This promise belongs to you and your children and to all who are far off—to all whom the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

²⁹Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. ³⁰Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” ³¹They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, you and your household.” ³²Then Paul and Silas spoke the word of the Lord to him and to everyone in his house. ³³At that hour of the night, the jailer took them and washed their wounds. And without delay, he and all his household were baptized. ³⁴Then he brought them into his home and set a meal before them. So he and all his household rejoiced that they had come to believe in God.

²⁹Let no unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building up the one in need and bringing grace to those who listen. ³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. ³¹Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice. ³²Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.

²¹Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. ²²Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. ²³For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. ²⁴Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. ²⁵Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her ²⁶to sanctify her, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷and to present her to Himself as a glorious church, without stain or wrinkle or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. ²⁹Indeed, no one ever hated his own body, but he nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church. ³⁰For we are members of His body. ³¹“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” ³²This mystery is profound, but I am speaking about Christ and the church. ³³Nevertheless, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

¹²Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with hearts of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. ¹³Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴And over all these virtues put on love, which is the bond of perfect unity. ¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful. ¹⁶Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. ¹⁷And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. ¹⁸Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. ¹⁹Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. ²⁰Children, obey your parents in everything, for this is pleasing to the Lord. ²¹Fathers, do not provoke your children, so they will not become discouraged.

⁸If anyone does not provide for his own, and especially his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

³I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience as did my forefathers, as I constantly remember you night and day in my prayers. ⁴Recalling your tears, I long to see you so that I may be filled with joy. ⁵I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am convinced is in you as well.

²⁷So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. ²⁸God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and every creature that crawls upon the earth.”

¹⁸The LORD God also said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make for him a suitable helper.” ¹⁹And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and He brought them to the man to see what he would name each one. And whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. ²⁰The man gave names to all the livestock, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. ²¹So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep, and while he slept, He took one of the man’s ribs and closed up the area with flesh. ²²And from the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man, He made a woman and brought her to him. ²³And the man said: “This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called ‘woman,’ for out of man she was taken.” ²⁴For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

¹⁵Then he blessed Joseph and said: “May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day, ¹⁶the angel who has redeemed me from all harm—may He bless these boys. And may they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they grow into a multitude upon the earth.”

²⁶When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ ²⁷you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Then the people bowed down and worshiped.

¹²Honor your father and mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

⁹Only be on your guard and diligently watch yourselves, so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen, and so that they do not slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and grandchildren. ¹⁰The day you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, “Gather the people before Me to hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days they live on the earth, and that they may teach them to their children.”

¹⁶But Ruth replied: “Do not urge me to leave you or to turn from following you. For wherever you go, I will go, and wherever you live, I will live; your people will be my people, and your God will be my God. ¹⁷Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD punish me, and ever so severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”

²⁸And now, O Lord GOD, You are God! Your words are true, and You have promised this goodness to Your servant. ²⁹Now therefore, may it please You to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You. For You, O Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”

⁵And when the days of feasting were over, Job would send for his children to purify them, rising early in the morning to offer burnt offerings for all of them. For Job thought, “Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

¹¹Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

²⁵I once was young and now am old, yet never have I seen the righteous abandoned or their children begging for bread. ²⁶They are ever generous and quick to lend, and their children are a blessing.

⁵A father of the fatherless and a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation. ⁶God settles the lonely in families; He leads the prisoners out to prosperity, but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.

¹⁷O God, You have taught me from my youth, and to this day I proclaim Your marvelous deeds. ¹⁸Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, until I proclaim Your power to the next generation, Your might to all who are to come.

²⁸The children of Your servants will dwell securely, and their descendants will be established before You.”

¹²The LORD is mindful of us; He will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel; He will bless the house of Aaron; ¹³He will bless those who fear the LORD—small and great alike. ¹⁴May the LORD give you increase, both you and your children. ¹⁵May you be blessed by the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

¹A song of ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in harmony! ²It is like fine oil on the head, running down on the beard, running down Aaron’s beard over the collar of his robes. ³It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the LORD has bestowed the blessing of life forevermore.

¹²Exalt the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion! ¹³For He strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses the children within you. ¹⁴He makes peace at your borders; He fills you with the finest wheat.

³³The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, but He blesses the home of the righteous.

¹Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. ²For I give you sound teaching; do not abandon my directive. ³When I was a son to my father, tender and the only child of my mother, ⁴he taught me and said, “Let your heart lay hold of my words; keep my commands and you will live.

¹⁸May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth: ¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful fawn—may her breasts satisfy you always; may you be captivated by her love forever.

²⁰My son, keep your father’s commandment, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. ²¹Bind them always upon your heart; tie them around your neck. ²²When you walk, they will guide you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; when you awake, they will speak to you. ²³For this commandment is a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way to life,

²²A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is passed to the righteous.

¹A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

¹Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife.

¹⁴Houses and wealth are inherited from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the LORD.

⁷The righteous man walks with integrity; blessed are his children after him.

²²Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. ²³Invest in truth and never sell it—in wisdom and instruction and understanding. ²⁴The father of a righteous man will greatly rejoice, and he who fathers a wise son will delight in him. ²⁵May your father and mother be glad, and may she who gave you birth rejoice!

³By wisdom a house is built and by understanding it is established; ⁴through knowledge its rooms are filled with every precious and beautiful treasure.

¹⁰A wife of noble character, who can find? She is far more precious than rubies. ¹¹The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he lacks nothing of value. ¹²She brings him good and not harm all the days of her life. ²⁶She opens her mouth with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue. ²⁷She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. ²⁸Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband praises her as well:

⁹Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.

³For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and currents on the dry ground. I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants, and My blessing on your offspring. ⁴They will sprout among the grass like willows by flowing streams. ⁵One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’ another will call himself by the name of Jacob, and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’ and will take the name of Israel.”

²¹“As for Me, this is My covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit will not depart from you, and My words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth or from the mouths of your children and grandchildren, from now on and forevermore,” says the LORD.

³⁸They will be My people, and I will be their God. ³⁹I will give them one heart and one way, so that they will always fear Me for their own good and for the good of their children after them. ⁴⁰I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never turn away from doing good to them, and I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will never turn away from Me. ⁴¹Yes, I will rejoice in doing them good, and I will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul.

¹⁴Yet you ask, “Why?” It is because the LORD has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have broken faith, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. ¹⁵Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. ¹⁶“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith.

⁵¹Then He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But His mother treasured up all these things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man.

²⁰So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still in the distance, his father saw him and was filled with compassion. He ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. ²¹The son declared, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²²But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let us feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again! He was lost and is found!’ So they began to celebrate.

⁴⁹“Sir,” the official said, “come down before my child dies.” ⁵⁰“Go,” said Jesus. “Your son will live.” The man took Jesus at His word and departed. ⁵¹And while he was still on the way, his servants met him with the news that his boy was alive. ⁵²So he inquired as to the hour when his son had recovered, and they told him, “The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.” ⁵³Then the father realized that this was the very hour in which Jesus had told him, “Your son will live.” And he and all his household believed.

²⁶When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to His mother, “Woman, here is your son.” ²⁷Then He said to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” So from that hour, this disciple took her into his home.

¹At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was called the Italian Regiment. ²He and all his household were devout and God-fearing. He gave generously to the people and prayed to God regularly.

¹⁴Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. ¹⁵And when she and her household had been baptized, she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

³The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. ⁴The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife. ⁵Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.

⁴An overseer must manage his own household well and keep his children under control, with complete dignity. ⁵For if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how can he care for the church of God?

⁴But if a widow has children or grandchildren, they must first learn to show godliness to their own family and repay their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God.

¹⁴But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them. ¹⁵From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

³Older women, likewise, are to be reverent in their behavior, not slanderers or addicted to much wine, but teachers of good. ⁴In this way they can train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵to be self-controlled, pure, managers of their households, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be discredited.

²⁰By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning the future. ²¹By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.

⁴Marriage should be honored by all and the marriage bed kept undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterers.

¹Wives, in the same way, submit yourselves to your husbands, so that even if they refuse to believe the word, they will be won over without words by the behavior of their wives ²when they see your pure and reverent demeanor. ³Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair or gold jewelry or fine clothes, ⁴but from the inner disposition of your heart, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. ⁵For this is how the holy women of the past adorned themselves. They put their hope in God and were submissive to their husbands, ⁶just as Sarah obeyed Abraham and called him lord. And you are her children if you do what is right and refuse to give way to fear. ⁷Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as a delicate vessel, and with honor as fellow heirs of the gracious gift of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.