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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 16 - Old & New Testament
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Job 20,21
Zophar Speaks
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite(a) replied:
2 This is why my unsettling thoughts compel me to answer,
because I am upset![a]
3 I have heard a rebuke that insults me,
and my understanding[b] makes me reply.(b)
4 Don't you know that ever since antiquity,
from the time man was placed on earth,
5 the joy of the wicked has been brief
and the happiness of the godless has lasted only a moment?(c)
6 Though his arrogance reaches heaven,
and his head touches the clouds,(d)
7 he will vanish forever like his own dung.
Those who know[c] him will ask, "Where is he?"(e)
8 He will fly away like a dream and never be found;
he will be chased away like a vision in the night.(f)
9 The eye that saw him will see him no more,(g)
and his household will no longer see him.(h)
10 His children will beg from[d] the poor,
for his own hands must give back his wealth.
11 His bones may be full of youthful vigor,
but will lie down with him in the grave.(i)
12 Though evil tastes sweet in his mouth
and he conceals it under his tongue,
13 though he cherishes it and will not let it go
but keeps it in his mouth,(j)
14 yet the food in his stomach turns
into cobras' venom inside him.
15 He swallows wealth but must vomit it up;
God will force it from his stomach.
16 He will suck the poison of cobras;
a viper's fangs[e] will kill him.(k)
17 He will not enjoy the streams,
the rivers flowing with honey and cream.(l)
18 He must return the fruit of his labor without consuming it;
he doesn't enjoy the profits from his trading.
19 For he oppressed and abandoned the poor;
he seized a house he did not build.(m)
20 Because his appetite is never satisfied,[f]
he does not let anything he desires escape.
21 Nothing is left for him to consume;(n)
therefore, his prosperity will not last.
22 At the height of his success[g] distress will come to him;(o)
the full weight of misery[h] will crush him.
23 When he fills his stomach,
God will send His burning anger against him,
raining(p) it down on him while he is eating.[i]
24 If he flees from an iron weapon,
an arrow from a bronze bow will pierce him.
25 He pulls it out of his back,
the flashing tip out of his liver.[j]
Terrors come over him.(q)
26 Total darkness is reserved for his treasures.
A fire unfanned by human hands will consume(r) him;
it will feed on what is left in his tent.
27 The heavens will expose his iniquity,(s)
and the earth will rise up against him.(t)
28 The possessions in his house will be removed,
flowing away on the day of God's anger.
29 This is the wicked man's lot(u) from God,
the inheritance God ordained for him.
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.
Matthew 11
Chapter 11
In Praise of John the Baptist
1 When Jesus had finished giving orders to His 12 disciples, He moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.(a) 2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent a message by his disciples(b) 3 and asked Him, "Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"(c)
4 Jesus replied to them, "Go and report to John what you hear and see: 5 the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed,[a] the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.(d) 6 And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed." (e)
7 As these men went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?(f) 8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? Look, those who wear soft clothes are in kings' palaces. 9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.(g) 10 This is the one it is written about:
Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You;
[b]
he will prepare Your way before You.
(h)[c]
11 "I assure you: Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared,[d] but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence,[e] and the violent have been seizing it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John; 14 if you're willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.(i) 15 Anyone who has ears[f] should listen! (j)
An Unresponsive Generation
16 "To what should I compare this generation? It's like children sitting in the marketplaces who call out to each other:
17 We played the flute for you,
but you didn't dance;
we sang a lament,
but you didn't mourn!
[g]
18 For John did not come eating or drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!'(k) 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard,(l) a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'(m) Yet wisdom is vindicated[h] by her deeds." [i]
20 Then He proceeded to denounce the towns where most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent: 21 "Woe to you, Chorazin!(n) Woe to you, Bethsaida!(o) For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,(p) they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes long ago! 22 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment(q) than for you. 23 And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will go down to Hades.(r) For if the miracles that were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until today. 24 But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you."
The Son Gives Knowledge and Rest
25 At that time Jesus said,(s) "I praise[j] You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned and revealed them to infants.(t) 26 Yes, Father, because this was Your good pleasure.[k] 27 All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows[l] the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires[m] to reveal Him. (u)
28 "Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.(v) 29 All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me,(w) because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.(x) 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."
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