the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
free while helping to build churches and support pastors in Uganda.
Click here to learn more!
Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 18 - Old & New Testament
csb
Job 25,26,27
Bildad Speaks
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
2 Dominion and dread(a) belong to Him,
the One who establishes harmony in the heavens.[a]
3 Can His troops be numbered?
Does His light not shine on everyone?
4 How can a person be justified before God?(b)
How can one born of woman be pure?(c)
5 If even the moon does not shine
and the stars are not pure in His sight,(d)
6 how much less man, who is a maggot,
and the son of man, who is a worm!(e)
Job's Reply to Bildad
1 Then Job answered:
2 How you have helped(a) the powerless
and delivered the arm that is weak!
3 How you have counseled the unwise(b)
and thoroughly explained the path to success!
4 Who did you speak these words to?
Whose breath came out of your mouth?
5 The departed spirits tremble
beneath the waters and all that inhabit them.(c)
6 Sheol(d) is naked before God,
and Abaddon(e) has no covering.(f)
7 He stretches the northern skies over empty space;
He hangs the earth on nothing.
8 He wraps up the waters in His clouds,
yet the clouds do not burst beneath their weight.(g)
9 He obscures the view of His throne,
spreading His cloud over it.
10 He laid out the horizon on the surface of the waters(h)
at the boundary between light and darkness.
11 The pillars that hold up the sky tremble,
astounded at His rebuke.(i)
12 By His power He stirred(j) the sea,
and by His understanding He crushed Rahab.(k)
13 By His breath the heavens gained their beauty;
His hand pierced the fleeing serpent.[a](l)
14 These are but the fringes of His ways;
how faint is the word we hear of Him!
Who can understand His mighty thunder?
1 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 As God lives, who has deprived me of justice,(a)
and the Almighty who has made me bitter,(b)
3 as long as my breath is still in me
and the breath from God remains in my nostrils,(c)
4 my lips will not speak unjustly,
and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 I will never affirm that you are right.
I will maintain my integrity[a](d) until I die.
6 I will cling to my righteousness and never let it go.
My conscience(e) will not accuse me as long as I live!
7 May my enemy be like the wicked
and my opponent like the unjust.
8 For what hope does the godless man(f) have when he is cut off,
when God takes away his life?(g)
9 Will God hear his cry
when distress comes on him?
10 Will he delight(h) in the Almighty?
Will he call on God at all times?
11 I will teach you about God's power.
I will not conceal what the Almighty has planned.[b]
12 All of you have seen this for yourselves,
why do you keep up this empty talk?(i)
13 This is a wicked man's lot(j) from God,
the inheritance the ruthless receive from the Almighty.
14 Even if his children increase, they are destined for the sword;
his descendants will never have enough food.
15 Those who survive him will be buried by the plague,
yet their widows will not weep for them.(k)
16 Though he piles up silver like dust
and heaps up a wardrobe like clay—
17 he may heap it up, but the righteous will wear it,
and the innocent will divide up his silver.(l)
18 The house he built is like a moth's cocoon
or a booth set up by a watchman.(m)
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;
when he opens his eyes, it is gone.
20 Terrors overtake him like a flood;(n)
a storm(o) wind sweeps him away at night.
21 An east wind picks him up, and he is gone;
it carries him away from his place.
22 It blasts at him without mercy,
while he flees desperately from its grasp.
23 It claps(p) its hands at him
and scorns him from its place.
Matthew 12:24-50
Chapter 12
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, "The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."(v)
25 Knowing their thoughts,(w) He told them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan(x) drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges.(y) 28 If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.(z) 29 How can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up(aa) the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me,(ab) and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Because of this,(ac) I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy,(ad) but the blasphemy against[i] the Spirit will not be forgiven.[j] 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man,(ae) it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. (af)
A Tree and Its Fruit
33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad[k] and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.(ag) 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow(ah) of the heart. 35 A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good,[l] and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.(ai) 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment(aj) people will have to account(ak) for every careless word they speak.[m] 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."(al)
39 But He answered them,(am) "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.(an) 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights,(ao) so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,(ap) because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here! (aq) 42 The queen of the south(ar) will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!
An Unclean Spirit's Return
43 "When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn't find any.(as) 44 Then it says, ‘I'll go back to my house that I came from.' And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. 45 Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man's last condition is worse than the first.(at) That's how it will also be with this evil generation."
True Relationships
46 He(au) was still speaking to the crowds when suddenly His mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to Him.(av) 47 Someone told Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You."[n]
48 But He replied to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples,(aw) He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother." (ax)
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
