Bible Reading Plan

Exodus 24

Chapter 24

People Affirm Their Covenant with God

¹ Then He said to Moses, "^(C1)Come up to the LORD, you and Aaron, ^(C2)Nadab and Abihu, and ^(C3)seventy of the elders of Israel, and you shall worship at a distance.² "Moses alone, however, shall approach the LORD, but they shall not approach, nor shall the people come up with him."

³ Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of the LORD and all the ^(F1)ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, "^(C1)All the words which the LORD has spoken we will do!"⁴ And ^(C1)Moses wrote down all the words of the LORD. Then he got up early in the morning, and built an ^(C2)altar ^(F1)at the foot of the mountain with twelve memorial stones for the twelve tribes of Israel.⁵ And he sent young men of the sons of Israel, ^(C1)and they offered burnt offerings and sacrificed bulls as peace offerings to the LORD.^6 (C1)Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.⁷ Then he took ^(C1)the Book of the Covenant and read it ^(F1)as the people listened; and they said, "^(C2)All that the LORD has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!"⁸ So ^(C1)Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, "Behold ^(C2)the blood of the covenant, which the LORD has ^(F1)made with you ^(F2)in accordance with all these words."

⁹ Then Moses went up ^(F1)with Aaron, ^(C1)Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel,¹⁰ and ^(C1)they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet ^(F1)(C2)there appeared to be a pavement of sapphire, ^(F2)as clear as the sky itself.¹¹ Yet He did not reach out with His hand against the nobles of the sons of Israel; and ^(C1)they saw God, and they ate and drank.

¹² Now the LORD said to Moses, "Come up to Me on the mountain and ^(F1)stay there, and ^(C1)I will give you the stone tablets ^(F2)with the Law and the ^(F3)commandments which I have written for their instruction."¹³ So Moses got up ^(F1)along with ^(C1)Joshua his ^(F2)servant, and Moses went up to ^(C2)the mountain of God.¹⁴ But to the elders he said, "^(C1)Wait here for us until we return to you. And behold, ^(C2)Aaron and Hur are with you; whoever ^(F1)has a legal matter, have him approach them."¹⁵ Then Moses went up to the mountain, and ^(C1)the cloud covered the mountain.^16 (C1)The glory of the LORD ^(F1)settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He ^(C2)called to Moses from the midst of the cloud.^17 (C1)And to the eyes of the sons of Israel, the appearance of the glory of the LORD was like a ^(C2)consuming fire on the mountain top.¹⁸ Then Moses entered the midst of the cloud ^(F1)as he went up to the mountain; and Moses was on the mountain for ^(C1)forty days and forty nights.

Proverbs 11

Chapter 11

Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked

¹ A ^(C1)false balance is an abomination to the LORD,
But a ^(C2)just weight is His delight.

² When ^(C1)pride comes, then comes dishonor;
But with the humble there is wisdom.

³ The ^(C1)integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the ^(C2)perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.

^4 (C1)Riches do not benefit on the day of wrath,
But ^(C2)righteousness rescues from death.

⁵ The ^(C1)righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But ^(C2)the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.

⁶ The righteousness of the upright will rescue them,
But the treacherous will ^(C1)be caught by their own greed.

⁷ When a wicked person dies, his ^(C1)expectation will perish,
And the ^(C2)hope of strong people perishes.

⁸ The righteous is rescued from trouble,
But the wicked ^(F1)takes his place.

⁹ With his ^(C1)mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the ^(C2)righteous will be rescued.

¹⁰ When things ^(C1)go well for the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.

¹¹ By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.

¹² One who despises his neighbor lacks ^(F1)sense,
But a person of understanding keeps silent.

¹³ One ^(C1)who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But one who is ^(F1)trustworthy ^(C2)conceals a matter.

¹⁴ Where there is no ^(C1)guidance the people fall,
But in an abundance of counselors there is ^(F1)victory.

¹⁵ One who is a ^(C1)guarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it,
But one who hates ^(F1)being a guarantor is secure.

¹⁶ A ^(C1)gracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches.

¹⁷ A ^(C1)merciful person does ^(F1)himself good,
But the cruel person ^(F2)does himself harm.

¹⁸ A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
But one who ^(C1)sows righteousness gets a true reward.

¹⁹ One who is steadfast in ^(C1)righteousness attains life,
But ^(C2)one who pursues evil attains his own death.

²⁰ The perverse in heart are an abomination to the LORD,
But the ^(C1)blameless in their ^(F1)walk are His ^(C2)delight.

^21 (F1)Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished,
But the ^(F2)descendants of the righteous will be rescued.

²² As a ^(C1)ring of gold in a pig's snout
So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.

²³ The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the ^(C1)expectation of the wicked is wrath.

²⁴ There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.

²⁵ A ^(F1)(C1)generous person will be ^(F2)prosperous,
And one who ^(C2)gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.

²⁶ One who withholds grain, the ^(C1)people will curse him,
But ^(C2)blessing will be on the head of him who ^(C3)sells it.

²⁷ One who diligently seeks good seeks favor,
But ^(C1)one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.

²⁸ One who ^(C1)trusts in his riches will fall,
But ^(C2)the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.

²⁹ One who ^(C1)troubles his own house will ^(C2)inherit wind,
And ^(C3)the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.

³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is ^(C1)a tree of life,
And ^(C2)one who is wise ^(F1)gains souls.

³¹ If ^(C1)the righteous will be repaid on the earth,
How much more the wicked and the sinner!

Matthew 3

Chapter 3

The Preaching of John the Baptist

¹ Now ^(C1)in those days ^(C2)John the Baptist ^(*)(F1)came, ^(F2)preaching in the ^(C3)wilderness of Judea, saying,² "^(C1)Repent, for ^(C2)the kingdom of heaven has come near."³ For this is the ^(C1)one referred to ^(F1)by Isaiah the prophet when he said,

"^(C2)THE VOICE OF ONE ^(F2)CALLING ^(F3)OUT IN THE WILDERNESS,
'^(C3)PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD,
MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT!'"

⁷ But when he saw many of the ^(C1)Pharisees and ^(C2)Sadducees coming for ^(F1)baptism, he said to them, "You ^(F2)(C3)offspring of vipers, who warned you to flee from ^(C4)the wrath to come?⁸ "^(C1)Therefore produce fruit ^(C2)consistent with repentance;⁹ and do not assume that you can say to yourselves, '^(C1)We have Abraham as our father'; for I tell you that God is able, from these stones, to raise up children for Abraham.¹⁰ "And the ^(C1)axe is already laid at the root of the trees; therefore, ^(C2)every tree that does not bear good fruit is being cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ "As for me, ^(C1)I baptize you ^(F1)with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; ^(C2)He will baptize you ^(F1)with the Holy Spirit and fire.¹² "His ^(C1)winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will ^(C2)gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the ^(C3)chaff with ^(C4)unquenchable fire."

The Baptism of Jesus

^13 (C1)Then Jesus ^(*)arrived ^(C2)from Galilee at the Jordan, coming to John to be baptized by him.¹⁴ But John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I have the need to be baptized by You, and yet You are coming to me?"¹⁵ But Jesus, answering, said to him, "Allow it at this time; for in this way it is fitting for us ^(C1)to fulfill all righteousness." Then he ^(*)allowed Him.¹⁶ After He was baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and ^(F1)(C1)he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and ^(F2)settling on Him,¹⁷ and behold, a voice from the heavens said, "^(C1)This is ^(F1)My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased."