the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 19 - Old & New Testament
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Job 28,29
Job's Hymn to Wisdom
1 Surely there is a mine for silver
and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the ground,
and copper is smelted from ore.
3 A miner puts an end to the darkness;
he probes[a] the deepest recesses
for ore in the gloomy darkness.
4 He cuts a shaft far from human habitation,
in places unknown to those who walk above ground.[b]
Suspended far away from people,
the miners swing back and forth.
5 Food may come from the earth,
but below the surface the earth is transformed as by fire.
6 Its rocks are a source of sapphire,[c](a)
containing flecks of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that path;
no falcon's eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts have never walked on it;
no lion has ever prowled over it.
9 The miner strikes the flint
and transforms the mountains at their foundations.
10 He cuts out channels in the rocks,
and his eyes spot every treasure.
11 He dams up the streams from flowing[d]
so that he may bring to light what is hidden.
12 But where can wisdom(b) be found,
and where is understanding located?
13 No man can know its value,[e]
since it cannot be found in the land of the living.
14 The ocean depths say, "It's not in me,"
while the sea declares, "I don't have it."(c)
15 Gold cannot be exchanged for it,
and silver cannot be weighed out for its price.
16 Wisdom cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir,(d)
in precious onyx or sapphire.[f](e)
17 Gold and glass do not compare with it,
and articles of fine gold cannot be exchanged for it.(f)
18 Coral and quartz are not worth mentioning.
The price of wisdom is beyond pearls.
19 Topaz from Cush cannot compare with it,
and it cannot be valued in pure gold.
20 Where then does wisdom come from,
and where is understanding located?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing
and concealed from the birds of the sky.
22 Abaddon and Death(g) say,
"We have heard news of it with our ears."
23 But God understands the way to wisdom,
and He knows its location.
24 For He looks to the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When God fixed the weight of the wind
and limited the water by measure,(h)
26 when He established a limit[g] for the rain(i)
and a path for the lightning,
27 He considered wisdom and evaluated it;
He established it and examined it.
28 He said to mankind,
"The fear of the Lord is this: wisdom.
And to turn from evil is understanding."(j)
Job's Final Claim of Innocence
1 Job continued his discourse, saying:
2 If only I could be as in months gone by,
in the days when God watched over me,
3 when His lamp shone above my head,
and I walked through darkness by His light!(a)
4 I would be as I was in the days of my youth
when God's friendship(b) rested on my tent,
5 when the Almighty was still with me
and my children were around me,
6 when my feet were bathed in cream
and the rock(c) poured out streams of oil for me!
7 When I went out to the city gate
and took my seat in the town square,
8 the young men saw me and withdrew,
while older men stood to their feet.
9 City officials stopped talking
and covered their mouths with their hands.(d)
10 The noblemen's voices were hushed,
and their tongues stuck to the roof of their mouths.
11 When they heard me, they blessed me,
and when they saw me, they spoke well of me.[a]
12 For I rescued the poor man who cried out for help,
and the fatherless child who had no one to support him.(e)
13 The dying man blessed me,
and I made the widow's heart rejoice.
14 I clothed myself in righteousness,(f)
and it enveloped me;
my just decisions were like a robe and a turban.
15 I was eyes to the blind
and feet to the lame.(g)
16 I was a father to the needy,
and I examined the case of the stranger.
17 I shattered the fangs of the unjust(h)
and snatched the prey from his teeth.
18 So I thought: I will die in my own nest
and multiply my days as the sand.[b]
19 My roots will have access to water,(i)
and the dew will rest on my branches all night.
20 My strength will be refreshed within me,
and my bow will be renewed in my hand.(j)
21 Men listened to me with expectation,
waiting silently for my advice.
22 After a word from me they did not speak again;
my speech settled on them like dew.
23 They waited for me as for the rain
and opened their mouths as for spring showers.
24 If I smiled at them, they couldn't believe it;
they were thrilled at[c] the light of my countenance.
25 I directed their course and presided as chief.
I lived as a king among his troops,
like one who comforts those who mourn.
Matthew 13:1-30
Chapter 13
The Parable of the Sower
1 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.(a) 2 Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.(b)
3 Then He told them many things in parables,(c) saying: "Consider the sower who went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn't much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn't deep. 6 But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered. 7 Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 8 Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. (d) 9 Anyone who has ears[a] should listen!" (e)
Why Jesus Used Parables
10 Then the disciples(f) came up and asked Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"(g)
11 He answered them, "Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know,(h) but it has not been given to them. 12 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.(i) 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see,(j) and hearing they do not listen or understand.(k) 14 Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You will listen and listen,
yet never understand;
and you will look and look,
yet never perceive.
(l)
15
For this people's heart has grown callous;
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn back—
and I would cure them.
(m)[b]
16 "But your eyes are blessed(n) because they do see, and your ears because they do hear!(o) 17 For I assure you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see yet didn't see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn't hear them. (p)
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 "You, then, listen to the parable of the sower:(q) 19 When anyone hears the word[c] about the kingdom and doesn't understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.(r) 20 And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.(s) 21 Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution(t) comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age(u) and the seduction[d] of wealth(v) choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown."
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
24 He presented another parable to them: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.(w) 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds[e] among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner's slaves(x) came to him and said, ‘Master, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?'
28 "‘An enemy did this!' he told them.
"‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?' the slaves asked him.
29 "‘No,' he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I'll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.'"
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