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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 20 - Old & New Testament
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Job 30,31
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)
1 I have made a covenant with my eyes.(a)
How then could I look at a young woman?[a](b)
2 For what portion(c) would I have from God above,
or what inheritance from the Almighty on high?
3 Doesn't disaster come to the unjust
and misfortune to evildoers?
4 Does He not see my ways
and number all my steps?(d)
5 If I have walked in falsehood
or my foot has rushed to deceit,
6 let God weigh me in accurate scales,(e)
and He will recognize my integrity.(f)
7 If my step has turned from the way,
my heart has followed my eyes,
or impurity has stained my hands,(g)
8 let someone else eat what I have sown,
and let my crops be uprooted.(h)
9 If my heart has been seduced by my neighbor's wife
or I have lurked at his door,
10 let my own wife grind grain for another man,
and let other men sleep with[b] her.
11 For that would be a disgrace;
it would be a crime deserving punishment.[c](i)
12 For it is a fire that consumes down to Abaddon;
it would destroy my entire harvest.(j)
13 If I have dismissed the case of my male or female servants
when they made a complaint against me,
14 what could I do when God stands up to judge?
How should I answer Him when He calls me to account?
15 Did not the One who made me in the womb also make them?
Did not the same God form us both in the womb?(k)
16 If I have refused the wishes of the poor
or let the widow's(l) eyes go blind,
17 if I have eaten my few crumbs alone
without letting the fatherless eat any of it—
18 for from my youth, I raised him as his father,
and since the day I was born[d] I guided the widow—
19 if I have seen anyone dying for lack of clothing
or a needy person without a cloak,(m)
20 if he[e] did not bless me
while warming himself with the fleece from my sheep,
21 if I ever cast my vote[f] against a fatherless child
when I saw that I had support in the city gate,(n)
22 then let my shoulder blade fall from my back,
and my arm be pulled from its socket.
23 For disaster from God terrifies me,
and because of His majesty I could not do these things.(o)
24 If I placed my confidence in gold
or called fine gold my trust,(p)
25 if I have rejoiced because my wealth is great
or because my own hand has acquired so much,
26 if I have gazed at the sun when it was shining
or at the moon moving in splendor,(q)
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed
and I threw them a kiss,[g]
28 this would also be a crime deserving punishment,
for I would have denied God above.
29 Have I rejoiced over my enemy's distress,
or become excited when trouble came his way?
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by asking for his life with a curse.
31 Haven't the members of my household said,
"Who is there who has not had enough to eat at Job's table?"
32 No stranger had to spend the night on the street,
for I opened my door to the traveler.
33 Have I covered my transgressions(r) as others do[h]
by hiding my guilt in my heart,(s)
34 because I greatly feared the crowds,
and the contempt of the clans terrified me,
so I grew silent and would not go outside?
35 If only I had someone to hear my case!(t)
Here is my signature; let the Almighty answer me.
Let my Opponent compose His indictment.
36 I would surely carry it on my shoulder
and wear it like a crown.(u)
37 I would give Him an account of all my steps;
I would approach Him like a prince.
38 If my land cries out against me
and its furrows join in weeping,
39 if I have consumed its produce without payment
or shown contempt for its tenants,[i]
40 then let thorns(v) grow instead of wheat
and stinkweed(w) instead of barley.
The words of Job are concluded.
Matthew 13:31-58
Chapter 13
31 He(y) presented another parable to them: "The kingdom of heaven(z) is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It's the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it's taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches." (aa)
33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds[f] of flour until it spread through all of it." [g](ab)
Using Parables Fulfills Prophecy
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable,(ac) 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:
I will open My mouth in parables;
I will declare things kept secret
from the foundation of the world.
(ad)[h]
Jesus Interprets the Wheat and the Weeds
36 Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, "Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us."(ae)
37 He replied: "The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, (af) 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.(ag) 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.(ah) 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin[i] and those guilty of lawlessness. [j](ai) 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace(aj) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(ak) 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Anyone who has ears[k] should listen! (al)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and of the Priceless Pearl
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. (am)
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless[l] pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it. (an)
The Parable of the Net
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,(ao) 48 and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,(ap) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (aq)
The Storehouse of Truth
51 "Have you understood all these things?" [m]
"Yes," they told Him.
52 "Therefore," He said to them, "every student of Scripture[n] instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old." (ar) 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He left there.
Rejection at Nazareth
54 He went to His hometown(as) and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him?(at) 55 Isn't this the carpenter's son?(au) Isn't His mother called Mary, and His brothers James,(av) Joseph,[o] Simon, and Judas?(aw) 56 And His sisters, aren't they all with us? So where does He get all these things?" 57 And they were offended by Him.
But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household." (ax) 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
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