the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
April 30 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Joshua 20-21
Chapter 20
Cities of Refuge
1 Then the Lord spoke to Joshua, 2 "Tell the Israelites: Select your cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses,(a) 3 so that a person who kills someone unintentionally or accidentally may flee there. These will be your refuge from the avenger of blood.(b) 4 When someone flees to one of these cities, stands at the entrance of the city gate, and states his case before[a] the elders of that city, they are to bring him into the city and give him a place to live among them.(c) 5 And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they must not hand the one who committed manslaughter over to him, for he killed his neighbor accidentally and did not hate him beforehand. 6 He is to stay in that city until he stands trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest serving at that time.(d) Then the one who committed manslaughter may return home to his own city from which he fled."
7 So they designated Kedesh in the hill country of Naphtali in Galilee,(e) Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah.(f) 8 Across the Jordan east of Jericho, they selected Bezer on the wilderness plateau from Reuben's tribe, Ramoth in Gilead from Gad's tribe, and Golan in Bashan from Manasseh's tribe.
9 These are the cities appointed for all the Israelites and foreigners among them,(g) so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there and not die at the hand of the avenger of blood until he stands before the assembly.
Chapter 21
Cities of the Levites
1 The heads of the Levite families approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the families of the Israelite tribes. 2 At Shiloh, in the land of Canaan, they told them, "The Lord commanded through Moses that we be given cities to live in, with their pasturelands for our livestock."(a) 3 So the Israelites, by the Lord 's command, gave the Levites these cities with their pasturelands from their inheritance.
4 The lot came out for the Kohathite clans: The Levites who were the descendants of Aaron the priest received 13 cities by lot from the tribes of Judah, Simeon, and Benjamin. 5 The remaining descendants of Kohath[a] received 10 cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan, and half the tribe of Manasseh.
6 Gershon's descendants received 13 cities by lot from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and half the tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.
7 Merari's descendants received 12 cities for their clans from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Zebulun.
8 The Israelites gave these cities with their pasturelands around them to the Levites by lot, as the Lord had commanded through Moses.
Cities of Aaron's Descendants
9 The Israelites gave these cities by name from the tribes of the descendants of Judah and Simeon 10 to the descendants of Aaron from the Kohathite clans of the Levites, because they received the first lot. 11 They gave them Kiriath-arba(b) (that is, Hebron) with its surrounding pasturelands in the hill country of Judah. Arba was the father of Anak. 12 But they gave the fields and villages of the city to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession.
13 They gave to the descendants of Aaron the priest:
Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands, 14 Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, 15 Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, 16 Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands—nine cities from these two tribes.
17 From the tribe of Benjamin they gave:
Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, 18 Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands—four cities. 19 All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.
Cities of Kohath's Other Descendants
20 The allotted cities to the remaining clans of Kohath's descendants, who were Levites, came from the tribe of Ephraim. 21 The Israelites gave them:
Shechem,(c) the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in the hill country of Ephraim, Gezer with its pasturelands, 22 Kibzaim with its pasturelands, and Beth-horon with its pasturelands—four cities.
23 From the tribe of Dan they gave:
Elteke with its pasturelands, Gibbethon with its pasturelands, 24 Aijalon with its pasturelands, and Gath-rimmon with its pasturelands—four cities.
25 From half the tribe of Manasseh they gave:
Taanach with its pasturelands and Gath-rimmon[b] with its pasturelands—two cities.
26 All 10 cities with their pasturelands were for the clans of Kohath's other descendants.
Cities of Gershon's Descendants
27 From half the tribe of Manasseh, they gave to the descendants of Gershon,(d) who were one of the Levite clans:
Golan, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands in Bashan, and Beeshterah with its pasturelands—two cities.
28 From the tribe of Issachar they gave:
Kishion with its pasturelands, Daberath with its pasturelands, 29 Jarmuth with its pasturelands, and En-gannim with its pasturelands—four cities.
30 From the tribe of Asher they gave:
Mishal with its pasturelands, Abdon with its pasturelands, 31 Helkath with its pasturelands, and Rehob with its pasturelands—four cities.
32 From the tribe of Naphtali they gave:
Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Hammoth-dor with its pasturelands, and Kartan with its pasturelands—three cities.
33 All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the Gershonites by their clans.
Cities of Merari's Descendants
34 From the tribe of Zebulun, they gave to the clans of the descendants of Merari,(e) who were the remaining Levites:
Jokneam with its pasturelands, Kartah with its pasturelands, 35 Dimnah with its pasturelands, and Nahalal with its pasturelands—four cities.
36 From the tribe of Reuben they gave:
Bezer(f) with its pasturelands, Jahzah[c] with its pasturelands, 37 Kedemoth with its pasturelands, and Mephaath with its pasturelands—four cities.[d]
38 From the tribe of Gad they gave:
Ramoth in Gilead, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Mahanaim with its pasturelands, 39 Heshbon with its pasturelands, and Jazer with its pasturelands—four cities in all. 40 All 12 cities were allotted to the clans of Merari's descendants, the remaining Levite clans.
41 Within the Israelite possession there were 48 cities in all with their pasturelands for the Levites.(g) 42 Each of these cities had its own surrounding pasturelands; this was true for all the cities.
The Lord's Promises Fulfilled
43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land He had sworn to give their fathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The Lord gave them rest on every side according to all He had sworn to their fathers. None of their enemies were able to stand against them, for the Lord handed over all their enemies to them. 45 None of the good promises the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed. Everything was fulfilled.(h)
Job 30
Chapter 30
1 But now they mock(a) me,
men younger than I am,
whose fathers I would have refused to put
with my sheep dogs.
2 What use to me was the strength of their hands?
Their vigor had left them.
3 Emaciated from poverty and hunger,
they gnawed the dry land,
the desolate wasteland by night.
4 They plucked mallow[a](b) among the shrubs,
and the roots of the broom tree were their food.
5 They were expelled from human society;
people shouted at them as if they were thieves.
6 They are living on the slopes of the wadis,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.
7 They bray among the shrubs;
they huddle beneath the thistles.
8 Foolish(c) men, without even a name.
They were forced to leave the land.
9 Now I am mocked by their songs;(d)
I have become an object of scorn to them.
10 They despise me and keep their distance from me;(e)
they do not hesitate to spit(f) in my face.
11 Because God has loosened my[b] bowstring and oppressed me,
they have cast off restraint in my presence.(g)
12 The rabble[c] rise up at my right;
they trap[d] my feet
and construct their siege ramp[e] against me.(h)
13 They tear up my path;
they contribute to my destruction,(i)
without anyone to help them.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;
they keep rolling in through the ruins.(j)
15 Terrors(k) are turned loose against me;
they chase my dignity away like the wind,
and my prosperity has passed by like a cloud.
16 Now my life is poured out before my eyes,
and days of suffering(l) have seized me.
17 Night pierces my bones,
but my gnawing pains never rest.(m)
18 My clothing is distorted with great force;
He chokes me by the neck of my garment.[f]
19 He throws me into the mud,
and I have become like dust and ashes.(n)
20 I cry out to You for help, but You do not answer me;(o)
when I stand up, You merely look at me.
21 You have turned against me with cruelty;
You harass(p) me with Your strong hand.
22 You lift me up on the wind and make me ride it;
You scatter me in the storm.(q)
23 Yes, I know that You will lead me to death—
the place(r) appointed for all who live.
24 Yet no one would stretch out his hand
against a ruined man[g]
when he cries out to him for help
because of his distress.(s)
25 Have I not wept for those who have fallen on hard times?
Has my soul not grieved for the needy?(t)
26 But when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, darkness(u) came.
27 I am churning within[h] and cannot rest;
days of suffering confront me.
28 I walk about blackened, but not by the sun.[i]
I stood in the assembly and cried out for help.
29 I have become a brother to jackals
and a companion of ostriches.
30 My skin blackens and flakes off,[j]
and my bones burn with fever.(v)
31 My lyre is used for mourning
and my flute for the sound of weeping.(w)
Acts 13:26-52
Chapter 13
26 "Brothers, sons of Abraham's race, and those among you who fear God, the message of this salvation has been sent to us.(aa) 27 For the residents of Jerusalem and their rulers, since they did not recognize Him or the voices of the prophets that are read every Sabbath, have fulfilled their words[g] by condemning Him.(ab) 28 Though they found no grounds for the death penalty, they asked Pilate to have Him killed.(ac) 29 When they had fulfilled all that had been written about Him, they took Him down from the tree and put Him in a tomb.(ad) 30 But God raised Him from the dead,(ae) 31 and He appeared for many days to those who came with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now His witnesses to the people.(af) 32 And we ourselves proclaim to you the good news of the promise that was made to our ancestors.(ag) 33 God has fulfilled this for us, their children, by raising up Jesus, as it is written in the second Psalm:
You are My Son;
today I have become Your Father.
[h](ah)[i]
34 Since He raised Him from the dead, never to return to decay, He has spoken in this way, I will grant you the faithful covenant blessings [j] made to David. (ai)[k] 35 Therefore He also says in another passage, You will not allow Your Holy One to see decay. (aj)[l] 36 For David, after serving his own generation in God's plan, fell asleep,(ak) was buried with his fathers, and decayed.(al) 37 But the One God raised up did not decay. 38 Therefore, let it be known to you, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed to you,(am) 39 and everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything that you could not be justified from through the law of Moses.(an) 40 So beware that what is said in the prophets does not happen to you:
41
Look, you scoffers,
marvel and vanish away,
because I am doing a work in your days,
a work that you will never believe,
even if someone were to explain it to you.
"(ao)[m]
Paul and Barnabas in Antioch
42 As they[n] were leaving, the people[o] begged that these matters be presented to them the following Sabbath. 43 After the synagogue had been dismissed, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who were speaking with them and persuading them to continue in the grace of God.(ap)
44 The following Sabbath almost the whole town assembled to hear the message of the Lord.[p] 45 But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to oppose what Paul was saying by insulting him.(aq)
46 Then Paul and Barnabas boldly said: "It was necessary that God's message be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles!(ar) 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
I have made you
a light for the Gentiles
to bring salvation
to the ends
[q]
of the earth.
"(as)[r]
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified the message of the Lord, and all who had been appointed to eternal life believed. 49 So the message of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jews incited the prominent women, who worshiped God, and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them from their district.(at) 51 But they shook the dust off their feet(au) against them(av) and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.(aw)
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