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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 18 - Old & New Testament
niv
Job 25,26,27
Bildad
1 Then Bildad the Shuhite(a) replied:
2 "Dominion and awe belong to God;(b)
he establishes order in the heights of heaven.(c)
3 Can his forces be numbered?
On whom does his light not rise?(d)
4 How then can a mortal be righteous before God?
How can one born of woman be pure?(e)
5 If even the moon(f) is not bright
and the stars are not pure in his eyes,(g)
6 how much less a mortal, who is but a maggot—
a human being,(h) who is only a worm!"(i)
Job
1 Then Job replied:
2 "How you have helped the powerless!(a)
How you have saved the arm that is feeble!(b)
3 What advice you have offered to one without wisdom!
And what great insight(c) you have displayed!
4 Who has helped you utter these words?
And whose spirit spoke from your mouth?(d)
5 "The dead are in deep anguish,(e)
those beneath the waters and all that live in them.
6 The realm of the dead(f) is naked before God;
Destruction[a](g) lies uncovered.(h)
7 He spreads out the northern skies(i) over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing.(j)
8 He wraps up the waters(k) in his clouds,(l)
yet the clouds do not burst under their weight.
9 He covers the face of the full moon,
spreading his clouds(m) over it.
10 He marks out the horizon on the face of the waters(n)
for a boundary between light and darkness.(o)
11 The pillars of the heavens quake,(p)
aghast at his rebuke.
12 By his power he churned up the sea;(q)
by his wisdom(r) he cut Rahab(s) to pieces.
13 By his breath the skies(t) became fair;
his hand pierced the gliding serpent.(u)
14 And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper(v) we hear of him!(w)
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?"(x)
Job's Final Word to His Friends
1 And Job continued his discourse:(a)
2 "As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice,(b)
the Almighty,(c) who has made my life bitter,(d)
3 as long as I have life within me,
the breath of God(e) in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not say anything wicked,
and my tongue will not utter lies.(f)
5 I will never admit you are in the right;
till I die, I will not deny my integrity.(g)
6 I will maintain my innocence(h) and never let go of it;
my conscience(i) will not reproach me as long as I live.(j)
7 "May my enemy be like the wicked,(k)
my adversary(l) like the unjust!
8 For what hope have the godless(m) when they are cut off,
when God takes away their life?(n)
9 Does God listen to their cry
when distress comes upon them?(o)
10 Will they find delight in the Almighty?(p)
Will they call on God at all times?
11 "I will teach you about the power of God;
the ways(q) of the Almighty I will not conceal.(r)
12 You have all seen this yourselves.
Why then this meaningless talk?
13 "Here is the fate God allots to the wicked,
the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:(s)
14 However many his children,(t) their fate is the sword;(u)
his offspring will never have enough to eat.(v)
15 The plague will bury those who survive him,
and their widows will not weep for them.(w)
16 Though he heaps up silver like dust(x)
and clothes like piles of clay,(y)
17 what he lays up(z) the righteous will wear,(aa)
and the innocent will divide his silver.(ab)
18 The house(ac) he builds is like a moth's cocoon,(ad)
like a hut(ae) made by a watchman.
19 He lies down wealthy, but will do so no more;(af)
when he opens his eyes, all is gone.(ag)
20 Terrors(ah) overtake him like a flood;(ai)
a tempest snatches him away in the night.(aj)
21 The east wind(ak) carries him off, and he is gone;(al)
it sweeps him out of his place.(am)
22 It hurls itself against him without mercy(an)
as he flees headlong(ao) from its power.(ap)
23 It claps its hands(aq) in derision
and hisses him out of his place."(ar)
Matthew 12:24-50
Chapter 12
24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul,(y) the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."(z)
25 Jesus knew their thoughts(aa) and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. 26 If Satan(ab) drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul,(ac) by whom do your people(ad) drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 28 But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God(ae) has come upon you.
29 "Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
30 "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.(af) 31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.(ag) 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age(ah) or in the age to come.(ai)
33 "Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.(aj) 34 You brood of vipers,(ak) how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks(al) what the heart is full of. 35 A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."(am)
The Sign of Jonah(an)(ao)
38 Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign(ap) from you."(aq)
39 He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.(ar) 40 For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,(as) so the Son of Man(at) will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.(au) 41 The men of Nineveh(av) will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah,(aw) and now something greater than Jonah is here. 42 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came(ax) from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.
43 "When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. 45 Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.(ay) That is how it will be with this wicked generation."
Jesus' Mother and Brothers(az)
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother(ba) and brothers(bb) stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."
48 He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven(bc) is my brother and sister and mother."
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