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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 20 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Genesis 27:1-45
Chapter 27
The Stolen Blessing
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were so weak that he could not see,(a) he called his older son Esau and said to him, "My son."
And he answered, "Here I am."
2 He said, "Look, I am old and do not know the day of my death. 3 Take your hunting gear, your quiver and bow, and go out in the field to hunt some game for me.(b) 4 Then make me a delicious meal that I love and bring it to me to eat, so that I can bless you before I die."(c)
5 Now Rebekah was listening to what Isaac said to his son Esau. So while Esau went to the field to hunt some game to bring in, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "Listen! I heard your father talking with your brother Esau. He said, 7 ‘Bring me the game and make a delicious meal for me to eat so that I can bless you in the Lord 's presence before I die.' 8 Now obey every order I give you, my son. 9 Go to the flock and bring me two choice young goats, and I will make them into a delicious meal for your father—the kind he loves. 10 Then take it to your father to eat so that he may bless you before he dies."
11 Jacob answered Rebekah his mother, "Look, my brother Esau is a hairy man, but I am a man with smooth skin.(d) 12 Suppose my father touches me. Then I will be revealed to him as a deceiver and bring a curse rather than a blessing on myself."
13 His mother said to him, "Your curse be on me, my son. Just obey me and go get them for me."
14 So he went and got the goats and brought them to his mother, and his mother made the delicious food his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the best clothes of her older son Esau, which were in the house, and had her younger son Jacob wear them. 16 She put the skins of the young goats on his hands and the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she handed the delicious food and the bread she had made to her son Jacob.
18 When he came to his father, he said, "My father."
And he answered, "Here I am. Who are you, my son?"
19 Jacob replied to his father, "I am Esau, your firstborn. I have done as you told me. Please sit up and eat some of my game so that you may bless me."
20 But Isaac said to his son, "How did you ever find it so quickly, my son?"
He replied, "Because the Lord your God worked it out for me."
21 Then Isaac said to Jacob, "Please come closer so I can touch you, my son. Are you really my son Esau or not?"
22 So Jacob came closer to his father Isaac. When he touched him, he said, "The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 He did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like those of his brother Esau; so he blessed him. 24 Again he asked, "Are you really my son Esau?"
And he replied, "I am."
25 Then he said, "Serve me, and let me eat some of my son's game so that I can bless you." Jacob brought it to him, and he ate; he brought him wine, and he drank.
26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Please come closer and kiss me, my son." 27 So he came closer and kissed him. When Isaac smelled[a] his clothes, he blessed him and said:
Ah, the smell of my son
is like the smell of a field
that the
Lord
has blessed.
28 May God give to you—
from the dew of the sky(e)
and from the richness of the land(f)—
an abundance of grain and new wine.(g)
29 May peoples serve you(h)
and nations bow down to you.
Be master over your brothers;
may your mother's sons bow down to you.
Those who curse you will be cursed,
and those who bless you will be blessed.(i)
30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob and Jacob had left the presence of his father Isaac, his brother Esau arrived from the hunt. 31 He had also made some delicious food and brought it to his father. Then he said to his father, "Let my father get up and eat some of his son's game, so that you may bless me."
32 But his father Isaac said to him, "Who are you?"
He answered, "I am Esau your firstborn son."
33 Isaac began to tremble uncontrollably. "Who was it then," he said, "who hunted game and brought it to me? I ate it all before you came in, and I blessed him. Indeed, he will be blessed!"
34 When Esau heard his father's words, he cried out with a loud and bitter cry and said to his father, "Bless me too, my father!"(j)
35 But he replied, "Your brother came deceitfully and took your blessing."
36 So he said, "Isn't he rightly named Jacob?[b](k) For he has cheated me twice now. He took my birthright, and look, now he has taken my blessing." Then he asked, "Haven't you saved a blessing for me?"
37 But Isaac answered Esau: "Look, I have made him a master over you, have given him all of his relatives as his servants, and have sustained him with grain and new wine. What then can I do for you, my son?"
38 Esau said to his father, "Do you only have one blessing, my father? Bless me too, my father!" And Esau wept loudly.[c]
39 Then his father Isaac answered him:
Look, your dwelling place will be
away from the richness of the land,
away from the dew of the sky above.
40 You will live by your sword,
and you will serve your brother.
But when you rebel,[d]
you will break his yoke from your neck.
Esau's Anger
41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. And Esau determined in his heart: "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."
42 When the words of her older son Esau were reported to Rebekah, she summoned her younger son Jacob and said to him, "Listen, your brother Esau is consoling himself by planning to kill you. 43 So now, my son, listen to me. Flee at once to my brother Laban in Haran, 44 and stay with him for a few days until your brother's anger subsides— 45 until your brother's rage turns away from you and he forgets what you have done to him. Then I will send for you and bring you back from there. Why should I lose you both in one day?"
Psalms 20
Chapter 20
Psalm 20
Deliverance in Battle
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 May Yahweh answer you in a day of trouble;(a)
may the name of Jacob's God protect you.(b)
2 May He send you help from the sanctuary
and sustain you from Zion.(c)
3 May He remember all your offerings
and accept your burnt offering.(d)
4 May He give you what your heart desires(e)
and fulfill your whole purpose.(f)
5 Let us shout for joy at your victory(g)
and lift the banner in the name of our God.(h)
May Yahweh fulfill all your requests.(i)
6 Now I know that the
Lord
gives victory to His anointed;(j)
He will answer him from His holy heaven
with mighty victories from[a] His right hand.(k)
7 Some take pride in chariots, and others in horses,
but we take pride in the name of Yahweh our God.(l)
8 They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.(m)
9
Lord
, give victory to the king!(n)
May He[b] answer us on the day that we call.
Luke 15
Chapter 15
The Parable of the Lost Sheep
1 All(a) the tax collectors(b) and sinners were approaching to listen to Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, "This man welcomes sinners(c) and eats with them!"
3 So He told them this parable:(d) 4 "What man among you, who has 100 sheep and loses one of them,(e) does not leave the 99 in the open field[a] and go after the lost one until he finds it? 5 When he has found it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders, 6 and coming home, he calls his friends and neighbors together, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found my lost sheep!' 7 I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven(f) over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don't need repentance.
The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 "Or what woman who has 10 silver coins,[b] if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls her women friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!' 10 I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God's angels(g) over one sinner who repents."
The Parable of the Lost Son
11 He also said: "A man had two sons. 12 The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.' So he distributed the assets[c] to them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered(h) his estate in foolish living. (i) 14 After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing.[d] 15 Then he went to work for[e] one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. (j) 16 He longed to eat his fill from[f] the carob pods[g] the pigs were eating, but no one would give him any. 17 When he came to his senses,[h] he said, ‘How many of my father's hired hands have more than enough food, and here I am dying of hunger![i] 18 I'll get up, go to my father, and say to him, Father, I have sinned(k) against heaven(l) and in your sight. 19 I'm no longer worthy(m) to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired hands.' 20 So he got up and went to his father. But while the son was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion.(n) He ran, threw his arms around his neck,[j] and kissed(o) him. 21 The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.'
22 "But the father told his slaves, ‘Quick! Bring out the best robe(p) and put it on him; put a ring(q) on his finger[k] and sandals(r) on his feet. 23 Then bring the fattened calf(s) and slaughter it, and let's celebrate with a feast, 24 because this son of mine was dead and is alive again;(t) he was lost and is found!' So they began to celebrate.
25 "Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he summoned one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 ‘Your brother is here,' he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' [l]
28 "Then he became angry and didn't want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets[m] with prostitutes,(u) you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.'
31 "‘Son,'[n] he said to him, ‘you are always with me,(v) and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
