The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.

If you hold back your foot on the sabbath/ from following your own pursuits on my holy day;/ If you call the sabbath a delight,/ and the Lord’s holy day honorable;/ If you honor it by not following your ways,/ seeking your own interests, or speaking with malice—/ Then you shall delight in the Lord,/ and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;/ I will nourish you with the heritage of Jacob, your father,/ for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,/ and drive all your laborers./ Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,/ striking with wicked claw./ Would that today you might fast/ so as to make your voice heard on high!/ Is this the manner of fasting I wish,/ of keeping a day of penance:/ That a man bow his head like a reed/ and lie in sackcloth and ashes?/ Do you call this a fast,/ a day acceptable to the Lord?/ This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:/ releasing those bound unjustly,/ untying the thongs of the yoke;/ Setting free the oppressed,/ breaking every yoke;/ Sharing your bread with the hungry,/ sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;/ Clothing the naked when you see them,/ and not turning your back on your own./ Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,/ and your wound shall quickly be healed;/ Your vindication shall go before you,/ and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard./ Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,/ you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

Moses said to the people: “Today I have set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.

Brothers and sisters: We are ambassadors for Christ, as if God were appealing through us.

Even now, says the Lord,/ return to me with your whole heart,/ with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;/ Rend your hearts, not your garments,/ and return to the Lord, your God./ For gracious and merciful is he,/ slow to anger, rich in kindness,/ and relenting in punishment./ Perhaps he will again relent/ and leave behind him a blessing,/ Offerings and libations/ for the Lord, your God.

Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation, for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life that he promised to those who love him.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.

Brothers and sisters: We speak a wisdom to those who are mature, not a wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age who are passing away.

If you choose you can keep the commandments, they will save you;/ if you trust in God, you too shall live;/ he has set before you fire and water;/ to whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand./ Before man are life and death, good and evil,/ whichever he chooses shall be given him./ Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;/ he is mighty in power, and all-seeing./ The eyes of God are on those who fear him;/ he understands man’s every deed./ No one does he command to act unjustly,/ to none does he give license to sin.