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Bible Reading Plan

Daily Bible Reading

March 28 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv

 

Numbers 22:41-23:26

Chapter 22

41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal,(ao) and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.(ap)

Chapter 23

Balaam's First Message

1 Balaam said, "Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams(a) for me." 2 Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(b)

3 Then Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me.(c) Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you." Then he went off to a barren height.

4 God met with him,(d) and Balaam said, "I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram."

5 The Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth(e) and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word."(f)

6 So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials.(g) 7 Then Balaam(h) spoke his message:(i)

"Balak brought me from Aram,(j)
     the king of Moab from the eastern mountains.(k)
‘Come,' he said, ‘curse Jacob for me;
     come, denounce Israel.'(l)
8 How can I curse
     those whom God has not cursed?(m)
How can I denounce
     those whom the Lord has not denounced?(n)
9 From the rocky peaks I see them,
     from the heights I view them.(o)
I see a people who live apart
     and do not consider themselves one of the nations.(p)
10 Who can count the dust of Jacob(q)
     or number even a fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,(r)
     and may my final end be like theirs!(s)"

11 Balak said to Balaam, "What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies,(t) but you have done nothing but bless them!"(u)

12 He answered, "Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?"(v)

Balaam's Second Message

13 Then Balak said to him, "Come with me to another place(w) where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp.(x) And from there, curse them for me.(y)" 14 So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah,(z) and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.(aa)

15 Balaam said to Balak, "Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there."

16 The Lord met with Balaam and put a word in his mouth(ab) and said, "Go back to Balak and give him this word."

17 So he went to him and found him standing beside his offering, with the Moabite officials.(ac) Balak asked him, "What did the Lord say?"

18 Then he spoke his message:(ad)

"Arise, Balak, and listen;
     hear me, son of Zippor.(ae)
19 God is not human,(af) that he should lie,(ag)
     not a human being, that he should change his mind.(ah)
Does he speak and then not act?
     Does he promise(ai) and not fulfill?
20 I have received a command to bless;(aj)
     he has blessed,(ak) and I cannot change it.(al)

21 "No misfortune is seen in Jacob,(am)
     no misery observed[a] in Israel.(an)
The Lord their God is with them;(ao)
     the shout of the King(ap) is among them.
22 God brought them out of Egypt;(aq)
     they have the strength of a wild ox.(ar)
23 There is no divination against[b] Jacob,
     no evil omens(as) against[c] Israel.
It will now be said of Jacob
     and of Israel, ‘See what God has done!'
24 The people rise like a lioness;(at)
     they rouse themselves like a lion(au)
that does not rest till it devours its prey
     and drinks the blood(av) of its victims."

25 Then Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!"

26 Balaam answered, "Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?"(aw)

Song of Solomon 3:6-5:1

Chapter 3

6 Who is this coming up from the wilderness(g)
     like a column of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh(h) and incense
     made from all the spices(i) of the merchant?
7 Look! It is Solomon's carriage,
     escorted by sixty warriors,(j)
     the noblest of Israel,
8 all of them wearing the sword,
     all experienced in battle,
each with his sword at his side,
     prepared for the terrors of the night.(k)
9 King Solomon made for himself the carriage;
     he made it of wood from Lebanon.
10 Its posts he made of silver,
     its base of gold.
Its seat was upholstered with purple,
     its interior inlaid with love.
Daughters of Jerusalem, 11 come out,
     and look, you daughters of Zion.(l)
Look[a] on King Solomon wearing a crown,
     the crown with which his mother crowned him
on the day of his wedding,
     the day his heart rejoiced.(m)

Chapter 4

He

1 How beautiful you are, my darling!
     Oh, how beautiful!
     Your eyes behind your veil(a) are doves.(b)
Your hair is like a flock of goats
     descending from the hills of Gilead.(c)
2 Your teeth are like a flock of sheep just shorn,
     coming up from the washing.
Each has its twin;
     not one of them is alone.(d)
3 Your lips are like a scarlet ribbon;
     your mouth(e) is lovely.(f)
Your temples behind your veil
     are like the halves of a pomegranate.(g)
4 Your neck is like the tower(h) of David,
     built with courses of stone[a];
on it hang a thousand shields,(i)
     all of them shields of warriors.
5 Your breasts(j) are like two fawns,
     like twin fawns of a gazelle(k)
     that browse among the lilies.(l)
6 Until the day breaks
     and the shadows flee,(m)
I will go to the mountain of myrrh(n)
     and to the hill of incense.
7 You are altogether beautiful,(o) my darling;
     there is no flaw(p) in you.

8 Come with me from Lebanon, my bride,(q)
     come with me from Lebanon.
Descend from the crest of Amana,
     from the top of Senir,(r) the summit of Hermon,(s)
from the lions' dens
     and the mountain haunts of leopards.
9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride;(t)
     you have stolen my heart
with one glance of your eyes,
     with one jewel of your necklace.(u)
10 How delightful(v) is your love(w), my sister, my bride!
     How much more pleasing is your love than wine,(x)
and the fragrance of your perfume(y)
     more than any spice!
11 Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;
     milk and honey are under your tongue.(z)
The fragrance of your garments
     is like the fragrance of Lebanon.(aa)
12 You are a garden(ab) locked up, my sister, my bride;(ac)
     you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.(ad)
13 Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates(ae)
     with choice fruits,
     with henna(af) and nard,
14       nard and saffron,
     calamus and cinnamon,(ag)
     with every kind of incense tree,
     with myrrh(ah) and aloes(ai)
     and all the finest spices.(aj)
15 You are[b] a garden(ak) fountain,(al)
     a well of flowing water
     streaming down from Lebanon.

She

16 Awake, north wind,
     and come, south wind!
Blow on my garden,(am)
     that its fragrance(an) may spread everywhere.
Let my beloved(ao) come into his garden
     and taste its choice fruits.(ap)

Chapter 5

He

1 I have come into my garden,(a) my sister, my bride;(b)
     I have gathered my myrrh with my spice.
I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey;
     I have drunk my wine and my milk.(c)

Friends

Eat, friends, and drink;
     drink your fill of love.

Matthew 23:1-12

Chapter 23

A Warning Against Hypocrisy(a)(b)

1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 "The teachers of the law(c) and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. 4 They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.(d)

5 "Everything they do is done for people to see:(e) They make their phylacteries[a](f) wide and the tassels on their garments(g) long; 6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;(h) 7 they love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and to be called ‘Rabbi' by others.(i)

8 "But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,' for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,' for you have one Father,(j) and he is in heaven. 10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. 11 The greatest among you will be your servant.(k) 12 For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.(l)

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