the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
May 5 - Bible-in-a-Year
csb
Judges 4-5
Chapter 4
Deborah and Barak
1 The Israelites again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord after Ehud had died. 2 So the Lord sold them into the hand of Jabin(a) king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor.(b) The commander of his forces was Sisera(c) who lived in Harosheth of the Nations.[a] 3 Then the Israelites cried out(d) to the Lord , because Jabin had 900 iron chariots, and he harshly oppressed them 20 years.
4 Deborah, a woman who was a prophetess(e) and the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 It was her custom to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her for judgment.(f)
6 She summoned Barak son of Abinoam from Kedesh in Naphtali and said to him, "Hasn't the Lord , the God of Israel,(g) commanded you: ‘Go, deploy the troops on Mount Tabor,(h) and take with you 10,000 men from the Naphtalites(i) and Zebulunites?(j) 7 Then I will lure Sisera commander of Jabin's forces, his chariots, and his army at the Wadi Kishon(k) to fight against you, and I will hand him over to you.'"(l)
8 Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, I will go. But if you will not go with me, I will not go."
9 "I will go with you," she said, "but you will receive no honor on the road you are about to take, because the Lord will sell Sisera into a woman's hand." So Deborah got up and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 Barak summoned Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; 10,000 men followed him, and Deborah also went with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite had moved away from the Kenites, the sons of Hobab,(m) Moses' father-in-law,(n) and pitched his tent beside the oak tree of Zaanannim,(o) which was near Kedesh.
12 It was reported to Sisera that Barak son of Abinoam had gone up Mount Tabor. 13 Sisera summoned all his 900 iron chariots and all the people who were with him from Harosheth of the Nations[b] to the Wadi Kishon. 14 Then Deborah said to Barak, "Move on, for this is the day the Lord has handed Sisera over to you. Hasn't the Lord gone before you?" So Barak came down from Mount Tabor with 10,000 men following him.
15 The Lord threw Sisera, all his charioteers, and all his army into confusion(p) with the sword before Barak. Sisera left his chariot and fled on foot. 16 Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth of the Nations,[c] and the whole army of Sisera fell by the sword; not a single man was left.
17 Meanwhile, Sisera had fled on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, because there was peace between Jabin king of Hazor and the family of Heber the Kenite. 18 Jael went out to greet Sisera and said to him, "Come in, my lord. Come in with me. Don't be afraid." So he went into her tent, and she covered him with a rug. 19 He said to her, "Please give me a little water to drink for I am thirsty." She opened a container of milk, gave him a drink, and covered him again. 20 Then he said to her, "Stand at the entrance to the tent. If a man comes and asks you, ‘Is there a man here?' say, ‘No.'" 21 While he was sleeping from exhaustion, Heber's wife Jael took a tent peg, grabbed a hammer, and went silently to Sisera. She hammered the peg into his temple and drove it into the ground, and he died.
22 When Barak arrived in pursuit of Sisera, Jael went out to greet him and said to him, "Come and I will show you the man you are looking for." So he went in with her, and there was Sisera lying dead with a tent peg through his temple!
23 That day God subdued Jabin king of Canaan before the Israelites. 24 The power of the Israelites continued to increase against Jabin king of Canaan until they destroyed him.
Chapter 5
Deborah's Song
1 On that day Deborah and Barak son of Abinoam sang:
2 When the leaders lead[a] in Israel,
when the people volunteer,
praise the
Lord
.
3 Listen, kings! Pay attention, princes!
I will sing to the
Lord
;
I will sing praise to the
Lord
God of Israel.
4
Lord
, when You came from Seir,(a)
when You marched from the fields of Edom,
the earth trembled,(b)
the heavens poured(c) rain,
and the clouds poured water.
5 The mountains melted before the
Lord
,
even Sinai[b] before the
Lord
, the God of Israel.(d)
6 In the days of Shamgar(e) son of Anath,
in the days of Jael,(f)
the main ways were deserted
because travelers kept to the side roads.
7 Villages were deserted,[c]
they were deserted in Israel,
until I, Deborah,[d] arose,
a mother in Israel.
8 Israel chose new gods,
then war was in the gates.
Not a shield or spear was seen
among 40,000 in Israel.
9 My heart is with the leaders of Israel,
with the volunteers of the people.
Praise the
Lord
!
10 You who ride on white[e] donkeys,
who sit on saddle blankets,
and who travel on the road, give praise!
11 Let them tell the righteous acts(g) of the
Lord
,
the righteous deeds of His warriors in Israel,
with the voices of the singers at the watering places.[f]
Then the
Lord
's people went down to the gates.
12 "Awake! Awake, Deborah!
Awake! Awake, sing a song!
Arise, Barak,
and take hold of your captives,
son of Abinoam!"
13 The survivors(h) came down to the nobles;(i)
the
Lord
's people came down to me[g] with the warriors.
14 Those with their roots in Amalek[h] came from Ephraim;
Benjamin came with your people after you.
The leaders came down from Machir,(j)
and those who carry a marshal's staff came from Zebulun.
15 The princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
Issachar was with Barak.
They set out at his heels(k) in the valley.
There was great searching[i] of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
16 Why did you sit among the sheepfolds
listening to the playing of pipes for the flocks?
There was great searching of heart
among the clans of Reuben.
17 Gilead(l) remained beyond the Jordan.
Dan, why did you linger at the ships?
Asher remained at the seashore
and stayed in his harbors.
18 Zebulun was a people risking their lives,
Naphtali also, on the heights of the battlefield.
19 Kings came and fought.
Then the kings of Canaan fought
at Taanach by the waters of Megiddo,
but they took no spoil of silver.
20 The stars fought from the heavens;
the stars fought with Sisera from their courses.
21 The river Kishon swept them away,(m)
the ancient river, the river Kishon.
March on, my soul, in strength!
22 The horses' hooves then hammered—
the galloping, galloping of his[j] stallions.
23 "Curse Meroz," says the Angel of the
Lord
,
"Bitterly curse her inhabitants,
for they did not come to help the
Lord
,
to help the
Lord
against the mighty warriors."
24 Jael is most blessed of women,
the wife of Heber the Kenite;
she is most blessed among tent-dwelling women.
25 He asked for water; she gave him milk.
She brought him curdled milk(n) in a majestic bowl.
26 She reached for a tent peg,
her right hand, for a workman's mallet.
Then she hammered Sisera—
she crushed his head;
she shattered and pierced his temple.
27 He collapsed, he fell, he lay down at[k] her feet;
he collapsed, he fell at her feet;
where he collapsed, there he fell—dead.
28 Sisera's mother looked through the window;
she peered through the lattice, crying out:
"Why is his chariot so long in coming?
Why don't I hear the hoofbeats of his horses?"[l]
29 Her wisest princesses answer her;
she even answers herself:[m]
30 "Are they not finding and dividing the spoil—
a girl or two for each warrior,
the spoil of colored garments for Sisera,
the spoil of an embroidered garment or two for my neck?"[n]
31
Lord
, may all your enemies perish as Sisera did.[o]
But may those who love Him
be like the rising of the sun in its strength.
And the land was peaceful 40 years.
Job 35
Chapter 35
1 Then Elihu continued, saying:
2 Do you think it is just when you say,
"I am righteous before God"?
3 For you ask, "What does it profit You,[a]
and what benefit comes to me, if I do not sin?"(a)
4 I will answer you
and your friends with you.
5 Look at the heavens and see;
gaze at the clouds high above you.
6 If you sin, how does it affect God?
If you multiply your transgressions, what does it do to Him?
7 If you are righteous, what do you give Him,
or what does He receive from your hand?(b)
8 Your wickedness affects a person like yourself,
and your righteousness another human being.
9 People cry out because of severe oppression;
they shout for help because of the arm of the mighty.(c)
10 But no one asks, "Where is God my Maker,(d)
who provides us with songs in the night,(e)
11 who gives us more understanding than the animals of the earth
and makes us wiser than the birds of the sky?"(f)
12 There they cry out, but He does not answer,
because of the pride of evil men.(g)
13 Indeed, God does not listen to empty cries,
and the Almighty does not take note of it—
14 how much less when[b] you complain[c]
that you do not see Him,
that your case(h) is before Him
and you are waiting(i) for Him.
15 But now, because God's anger does not punish
and He does not pay attention to transgression,[d]
16 Job opens his mouth in vain
and multiplies words without knowledge.(j)
Acts 16:16-40
Chapter 16
16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit of prediction.[c](o) She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, "These men, who are proclaiming to you[d] the way of salvation, are the slaves of the Most High God." 18 And she did this for many days.
But Paul was greatly aggravated and turning to the spirit, said, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" And it came out right away.[e](p)
19 When her owners saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas(q) and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. 20 Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, "These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice."(r)
22 Then the mob joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.(s) 23 After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded. 24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.(t)
A Midnight Deliverance
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's chains came loose.(u) 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.
28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, "Don't harm yourself, because all of us are here!"
29 Then the jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he escorted them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"(v)
31 So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household."(w) 32 Then they spoke the message of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. 33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. 34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household.(x)
An Official Apology
35 When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, "Release those men!"
36 The jailer reported these words to Paul: "The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace."(y)
37 But Paul said to them, "They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to smuggle us out secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out!"(z)
38 Then the police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens. 39 So they came and apologized to them, and escorting them out, they urged them to leave town. 40 After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia's house where they saw and encouraged the brothers, and departed.(aa)
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