the Week of Proper 21 / Ordinary 26
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 13 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Genesis 20
Chapter 20
Sarah Rescued from Abimelech
1 From there Abraham traveled to the region of the Negev and settled between Kadesh and Shur. While he lived in Gerar,(a) 2 Abraham said about his wife Sarah, "She is my sister."(b) So Abimelech king of Gerar had Sarah brought to him.
3 But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night and said to him, "You are about to die because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman."[a]
4 Now Abimelech had not approached her, so he said, "Lord, would You destroy a nation even though it is innocent? 5 Didn't he himself say to me, ‘She is my sister'? And she herself said, ‘He is my brother.' I did this with a clear conscience[b] and clean[c] hands."
6 Then God said to him in the dream, "Yes, I know that you did this with a clear conscience.[d] I have also kept you from sinning against Me. Therefore I have not let you touch her. 7 Now return the man's wife, for he is a prophet,(c) and he will pray for you and you will live. But if you do not return her, know that you will certainly die, you and all who are yours."
8 Early in the morning Abimelech got up, called all his servants together, and personally[e] told them all these things, and the men were terrified.
9 Then Abimelech called Abraham in and said to him, "What have you done to us? How did I sin against you that you have brought such enormous guilt on me and on my kingdom? You have done things to me that should never be done."(d) 10 Abimelech also said to Abraham, "What did you intend when you did this thing?"
11 Abraham replied, "I thought, ‘There is absolutely no fear of God in this place.(e) They will kill me because of my wife.' 12 Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife. 13 So when God had me wander from my father's house,(f) I said to her: Show your loyalty to me wherever we go and say about me: ‘He's my brother.'"(g)
14 Then Abimelech took sheep and cattle and male and female slaves, gave them to Abraham, and returned his wife Sarah to him. 15 Abimelech said, "Look, my land is before you.(h) Settle wherever you want."[f] 16 And he said to Sarah, "Look, I am giving your brother 1,000 pieces of silver. It is a verification of your honor[g] to all who are with you. You are fully vindicated."
17 Then Abraham prayed to God,(i) and God healed Abimelech, his wife, and his female slaves so that they could bear children, 18 for the Lord had completely closed all the wombs in Abimelech's household on account of Sarah, Abraham's wife.
Psalms 13
Chapter 13
Psalm 13
A Plea for Deliverance
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1
Lord
, how long will You forget me?
Forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?(a)
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns[a] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(b)
3 Consider me and answer,
Lord
my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(c)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, "I have triumphed over him,"
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(d)
5 But I have trusted in Your faithful love;(e)
my heart will rejoice in Your deliverance.(f)
6 I will sing to the
Lord
because He has treated me generously.(g)
Luke 11:29-54
Chapter 11
29 As the crowds were increasing, He began saying: "This generation(aw) is an evil generation.(ax) It demands a sign,(ay) but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. [s](az) 30 For just as Jonah became a sign to the people of Nineveh, so also the Son of Man(ba) will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the south(bb) will rise up at the judgment(bc) with the men of this generation and condemn(bd) them, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon,(be) and look—something greater than Solomon is here! 32 The men of Nineveh will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at Jonah's proclamation, and look—something greater than Jonah is here!
The Lamp of the Body
33 "No(bf) one lights a lamp(bg) and puts it in the cellar or under a basket,[t] but on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see its light. 34 Your eye is the lamp of the body.(bh) When your eye is good, your whole body is also full of light. But when it is bad,(bi) your body is also full of darkness. 35 Take care then, that the light in you is not darkness. 36 If, therefore, your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, it will be entirely illuminated, as when a lamp shines its light on you." [u]
Religious Hypocrisy Denounced
37 As He was speaking, a Pharisee(bj) asked Him to dine with him. So He went in and reclined at the table. 38 When the Pharisee saw this, he was amazed that He did not first perform the ritual washing[v](bk) before dinner.(bl) 39 But the Lord said to him: "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed(bm) and evil.(bn) 40 Fools!(bo) Didn't He who made the outside make the inside too? 41 But give from what is within to the poor,[w](bp) and then everything is clean(bq) for you.
42 "But woe(br) to you Pharisees! You give a tenth [x](bs) of mint, rue, and every kind of herb, and you bypass[y] justice(bt) and love for God. [z](bu) These things you should have done without neglecting the others.
43 "Woe to you Pharisees! You love the front seat(bv) in the synagogues(bw) and greetings in the marketplaces.
44 "Woe to you![aa] You are like unmarked graves;(bx) the people who walk over them don't know it."
45 One of the experts in the law(by) answered Him, "Teacher, when You say these things You insult us too."
46 Then He said: "Woe also to you experts in the law! You load people with burdens(bz) that are hard to carry, yet you yourselves don't touch these burdens with one of your fingers. (ca)
47 "Woe to you! You build monuments[ab] to the prophets,(cb) and your fathers killed(cc) them. 48 Therefore, you are witnesses(cd) that you approve [ac](ce) the deeds of your fathers, for they killed them, and you build their monuments.[ad] 49 Because of this, the wisdom of God(cf) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles,(cg) and some of them they will kill and persecute,'(ch) 50 so that this generation(ci) may be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world [ae](cj) — 51 from the blood of Abel(ck) to the blood of Zechariah,(cl) who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.
"Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible. [af]
52 "Woe to you experts in the law! You have taken away the key of knowledge!(cm) You didn't go in yourselves, and you hindered(cn) those who were going in."
53 When He left there,[ag] the scribes and the Pharisees began to oppose(co) Him fiercely and to cross-examine Him about many things; 54 they were lying in wait(cp) for Him to trap Him in something He said.[ah](cq)
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