the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
April 21 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Joshua 1-2
Chapter 1
Encouragement of Joshua
1 After the death of Moses(a) the Lord 's servant, the Lord spoke to Joshua[a] son of Nun,(b) who had served Moses: 2 "Moses My servant is dead.(c) Now you and all the people prepare to cross over the Jordan(d) to the land I am giving the Israelites. 3 I have given you every place where the sole of your foot treads,(e) just as I promised Moses. 4 Your territory will be from the wilderness and Lebanon(f) to the great Euphrates River—all the land of the Hittites(g)—and west to the Mediterranean Sea.[b](h) 5 No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live.(i) I will be with you, just as I was with Moses. I will not leave you or forsake you.(j)
6 "Be strong and courageous,(k) for you will distribute the land I swore to their fathers to give them as an inheritance.(l) 7 Above all, be strong and very courageous to carefully observe the whole instruction My servant Moses commanded you.(m) Do not turn from it to the right or the left, so that you will have success wherever you go. 8 This book of instruction must not depart from your mouth;(n) you are to recite[c] it day and night so that you may carefully observe everything written in it. For then you will prosper and succeed in whatever you do.(o) 9 Haven't I commanded you: be strong and courageous?(p) Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua Prepares the People
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people: 11 "Go through the camp and tell the people, ‘Get provisions ready for yourselves, for within three days you will be crossing the Jordan to go in and take possession of the land the Lord your God is giving you to inherit.'"(q)
12 Joshua said to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh:(r) 13 "Remember what Moses the Lord 's servant commanded you when he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest, and He will give you this land.'(s) 14 Your wives, young children, and livestock may remain in the land Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan.[d] But your fighting men must cross over in battle formation[e] ahead of your brothers[f] and help them 15 until the Lord gives your brothers rest, as He has given you, and they too possess the land the Lord your God is giving them. You may then return to the land of your inheritance(t) and take possession of what Moses the Lord 's servant(u) gave you on the east side of the Jordan."
16 They answered Joshua, "Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go. 17 We will obey you, just as we obeyed Moses in everything. And may the Lord your God be with you, as He was with Moses.(v) 18 Anyone who rebels against your order and does not obey your words in all that you command him, will be put to death. Above all, be strong and courageous!"(w)
Chapter 2
Spies Sent to Jericho
1 Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two men as spies(a) from the Acacia Grove,[a] saying, "Go and scout the land, especially Jericho." So they left, and they came to the house of a woman, a prostitute named Rahab,(b) and stayed there.
2 The king of Jericho was told, "Look, some of the Israelite men have come here tonight to investigate the land." 3 Then the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab and said, "Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, for they came to investigate the entire land."
4 But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them.(c) So she said, "Yes, the men did come to me, but I didn't know where they were from. 5 At nightfall, when the gate was about to close, the men went out, and I don't know where they were going. Chase after them quickly, and you can catch up with them!" 6 But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them(d) among the stalks of flax that she had arranged on the roof. 7 The men pursued them along the road to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as they left to pursue them, the gate was shut.
The Promise to Rahab
8 Before the men fell asleep, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, "I know that the Lord has given you this land(e) and that the terror of you has fallen on us, and everyone who lives in the land is panicking because of you.[b] 10 For we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of the Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt,(f) and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings you completely destroyed(g) across the Jordan. 11 When we heard this, we lost heart, and everyone's courage failed[c] because of you,(h) for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below. 12 Now please swear to me by the Lord that you will also show kindness to my family, because I showed kindness to you.[d] Give me a sure sign[e] 13 that you will spare the lives of my father, mother, brothers, sisters, and all who belong to them, and save us from death."
14 The men answered her, "We will give our lives for yours. If you don't report our mission, we will show kindness and faithfulness to you when the Lord gives us the land."
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, since she lived in a house that was built into the wall of the city. 16 "Go to the hill country so that the men pursuing you won't find you," she said to them. "Hide yourselves there for three days until they return; afterward, go on your way."
17 The men said to her, "We will be free from this oath you made us swear, 18 unless, when we enter the land, you tie this scarlet cord to the window through which you let us down. Bring your father, mother, brothers, and all your father's family into your house. 19 If anyone goes out the doors of your house, his blood will be on his own head,(i) and we will be innocent. But if anyone with you in the house should be harmed,[f] his blood will be on our heads. 20 And if you report our mission, we are free from the oath you made us swear."
21 "Let it be as you say," she replied, and she sent them away. After they had gone, she tied the scarlet cord to the window.
22 So the two men went into the hill country and stayed there three days until the pursuers had returned. They searched all along the way, but did not find them. 23 Then the men returned, came down from the hill country, and crossed the Jordan. They went to Joshua son of Nun and reported everything that had happened to them. 24 They told Joshua, "The Lord has handed over the entire land to us. Everyone who lives in the land is also panicking because of us."[g]
Job 21
Chapter 21
Job's Reply to Zophar
1 Then Job answered:
2 Pay close attention to my words;
let this be the consolation you offer.
3 Bear with me while I speak;
then after I have spoken, you may continue mocking.
4 As for me, is my complaint(a) against a man?
Then why shouldn't I be impatient?
5 Look at me and shudder;(b)
put your hand over your mouth.(c)
6 When I think about it, I am terrified
and my body trembles(d) in horror.
7 Why do the wicked continue to live,
growing old and becoming powerful?
8 Their children are established while they are still alive,[a]
and their descendants, before their eyes.
9 Their homes are secure and free of fear;(e)
no rod from God strikes them.(f)
10 Their bulls breed without fail;
their cows calve and do not miscarry.
11 They let their little ones run around like lambs;
their children skip about,
12 singing to the tambourine and lyre
and rejoicing at the sound of the flute.(g)
13 They spend[b] their days in prosperity(h)
and go down to Sheol in peace.
14 Yet they say to God: "Leave us alone!
We don't want to know Your ways.(i)
15 Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
and what will we gain by pleading with Him?"(j)
16 But their prosperity is not of their own doing.
The counsel of the wicked is far from me!(k)
17 How often is the lamp(l) of the wicked put out?
Does disaster[c] come on them?
Does He apportion destruction in His anger?
18 Are they like straw before the wind,
like chaff(m) a storm sweeps away?
19 God reserves a person's punishment for his children.(n)
Let God repay the person himself, so that he may know it.
20 Let his own eyes see his demise;
let him drink from the Almighty's wrath!(o)
21 For what does he care about his family once he is dead,(p)
when the number of his months has run out?(q)
22 Can anyone teach God knowledge,(r)
since He judges the exalted ones?[d]
23 One person dies in excellent health,[e]
completely secure[f] and at ease.
24 His body is[g] well fed,[h]
and his bones are full of marrow.[i]
25 Yet another person dies with a bitter(s) soul,
having never tasted prosperity.
26 But they both lie in the dust,
and worms cover them.(t)
27 I know your thoughts very well,
the schemes you would wrong me with.
28 For you say, "Where now is the nobleman's house?"
and "Where are the tents(u) the wicked lived in?"
29 Have you never consulted those who travel the roads?
Don't you accept their reports?[j]
30 Indeed, the evil man is spared from the day of disaster,
rescued from the day of wrath.
31 Who would denounce his behavior to his face?
Who would repay(v) him for what he has done?
32 He is carried to the grave,
and someone keeps watch over his tomb.
33 The dirt on his grave is[k] sweet to him.
Everyone follows behind him,
and those who go before him are without number.
34 So how can you offer me such futile comfort?
Your answers are deceptive.
Acts 8:26-40
Chapter 8
26 An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: "Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." (This is the desert road.)[g](p) 27 So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch(q) and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,[h] who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem(r) 28 and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.
29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go and join that chariot."(s)
30 When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you're reading?"
31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone guides me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb is silent before its shearer,
so He does not open His mouth.
33
In His humiliation justice was denied Him.
Who will describe His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.
(t)[i]
34 The eunuch replied to Philip, "I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or another person?" 35 So Philip proceeded[j] to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning from that Scripture.(u)
36 As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, "Look, there's water! What would keep me from being baptized?" [37 And Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart you may." And he replied, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."][k] 38 Then he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord(v) carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer. But he went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip appeared in[l] Azotus,[m] and he was traveling and evangelizing all the towns until he came to Caesarea.(w)
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