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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
January 20 - Old & New Testament
niv
Job 30,31
1 "But now they mock me,(a)
men younger than I,
whose fathers I would have disdained
to put with my sheep dogs.(b)
2 Of what use was the strength of their hands to me,
since their vigor had gone from them?
3 Haggard from want and hunger,
they roamed[a] the parched land(c)
in desolate wastelands(d) at night.(e)
4 In the brush they gathered salt herbs,(f)
and their food[b] was the root of the broom bush.(g)
5 They were banished from human society,
shouted at as if they were thieves.
6 They were forced to live in the dry stream beds,
among the rocks and in holes in the ground.(h)
7 They brayed(i) among the bushes(j)
and huddled in the undergrowth.
8 A base and nameless brood,(k)
they were driven out of the land.(l)
9 "And now those young men mock me(m) in song;(n)
I have become a byword(o) among them.
10 They detest me(p) and keep their distance;
they do not hesitate to spit in my face.(q)
11 Now that God has unstrung my bow(r) and afflicted me,(s)
they throw off restraint(t) in my presence.
12 On my right(u) the tribe[c] attacks;
they lay snares(v) for my feet,(w)
they build their siege ramps against me.(x)
13 They break up my road;(y)
they succeed in destroying me.(z)
‘No one can help him,' they say.
14 They advance as through a gaping breach;(aa)
amid the ruins they come rolling in.
15 Terrors(ab) overwhelm me;(ac)
my dignity is driven away as by the wind,
my safety vanishes like a cloud.(ad)
16 "And now my life ebbs away;(ae)
days of suffering grip me.(af)
17 Night pierces my bones;
my gnawing pains never rest.(ag)
18 In his great power(ah) God becomes like clothing to me[d];
he binds me like the neck of my garment.
19 He throws me into the mud,(ai)
and I am reduced to dust and ashes.(aj)
20 "I cry out to you,(ak) God, but you do not answer;(al)
I stand up, but you merely look at me.
21 You turn on me ruthlessly;(am)
with the might of your hand(an) you attack me.(ao)
22 You snatch me up and drive me before the wind;(ap)
you toss me about in the storm.(aq)
23 I know you will bring me down to death,(ar)
to the place appointed for all the living.(as)
24 "Surely no one lays a hand on a broken man(at)
when he cries for help in his distress.(au)
25 Have I not wept for those in trouble?(av)
Has not my soul grieved for the poor?(aw)
26 Yet when I hoped for good, evil came;
when I looked for light, then came darkness.(ax)
27 The churning inside me never stops;(ay)
days of suffering confront me.(az)
28 I go about blackened,(ba) but not by the sun;
I stand up in the assembly and cry for help.(bb)
29 I have become a brother of jackals,(bc)
a companion of owls.(bd)
30 My skin grows black(be) and peels;(bf)
my body burns with fever.(bg)
31 My lyre is tuned to mourning,(bh)
and my pipe(bi) to the sound of wailing.
1 "I made a covenant with my eyes(a)
not to look lustfully at a young woman.(b)
2 For what is our lot(c) from God above,
our heritage from the Almighty on high?(d)
3 Is it not ruin(e) for the wicked,
disaster(f) for those who do wrong?(g)
4 Does he not see my ways(h)
and count my every step?(i)
5 "If I have walked with falsehood
or my foot has hurried after deceit(j)—
6 let God weigh me(k) in honest scales(l)
and he will know that I am blameless(m)—
7 if my steps have turned from the path,(n)
if my heart has been led by my eyes,
or if my hands(o) have been defiled,(p)
8 then may others eat what I have sown,(q)
and may my crops be uprooted.(r)
9 "If my heart has been enticed(s) by a woman,(t)
or if I have lurked at my neighbor's door,
10 then may my wife grind(u) another man's grain,
and may other men sleep with her.(v)
11 For that would have been wicked,(w)
a sin to be judged.(x)
12 It is a fire(y) that burns to Destruction[a];(z)
it would have uprooted my harvest.(aa)
13 "If I have denied justice to any of my servants,(ab)
whether male or female,
when they had a grievance against me,(ac)
14 what will I do when God confronts me?(ad)
What will I answer when called to account?(ae)
15 Did not he who made me in the womb make them?(af)
Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?(ag)
16 "If I have denied the desires of the poor(ah)
or let the eyes of the widow(ai) grow weary,(aj)
17 if I have kept my bread to myself,
not sharing it with the fatherless(ak)—
18 but from my youth I reared them as a father would,
and from my birth I guided the widow(al)—
19 if I have seen anyone perishing for lack of clothing,(am)
or the needy(an) without garments,
20 and their hearts did not bless me(ao)
for warming them with the fleece(ap) from my sheep,
21 if I have raised my hand against the fatherless,(aq)
knowing that I had influence in court,(ar)
22 then let my arm fall from the shoulder,
let it be broken off at the joint.(as)
23 For I dreaded destruction from God,(at)
and for fear of his splendor(au) I could not do such things.(av)
24 "If I have put my trust in gold(aw)
or said to pure gold, ‘You are my security,'(ax)
25 if I have rejoiced over my great wealth,(ay)
the fortune my hands had gained,(az)
26 if I have regarded the sun(ba) in its radiance
or the moon(bb) moving in splendor,
27 so that my heart was secretly enticed(bc)
and my hand offered them a kiss of homage,(bd)
28 then these also would be sins to be judged,(be)
for I would have been unfaithful to God on high.(bf)
29 "If I have rejoiced at my enemy's misfortune(bg)
or gloated over the trouble that came to him(bh)—
30 I have not allowed my mouth to sin
by invoking a curse against their life(bi)—
31 if those of my household have never said,
‘Who has not been filled with Job's meat?'(bj)—
32 but no stranger had to spend the night in the street,
for my door was always open to the traveler(bk)—
33 if I have concealed(bl) my sin as people do,[b]
by hiding(bm) my guilt in my heart
34 because I so feared the crowd(bn)
and so dreaded the contempt of the clans
that I kept silent(bo) and would not go outside—
35 ("Oh, that I had someone to hear me!(bp)
I sign now my defense—let the Almighty answer me;
let my accuser(bq) put his indictment in writing.
36 Surely I would wear it on my shoulder,(br)
I would put it on like a crown.(bs)
37 I would give him an account of my every step;(bt)
I would present it to him as to a ruler.(bu))—
38 "if my land cries out against me(bv)
and all its furrows are wet(bw) with tears,
39 if I have devoured its yield without payment(bx)
or broken the spirit of its tenants,(by)
40 then let briers(bz) come up instead of wheat
and stinkweed(ca) instead of barley."
The words of Job are ended.(cb)
Matthew 13:31-58
Chapter 13
31 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like(y) a mustard seed,(z) which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."(aa)
33 He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like(ab) yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds[b] of flour(ac) until it worked all through the dough."(ad)
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.(ae) 35 So was fulfilled(af) what was spoken through the prophet:
"I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."[c](ag)
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable(ah) of the weeds in the field."
37 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.(ai) 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,(aj) 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest(ak) is the end of the age,(al) and the harvesters are angels.(am)
40 "As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man(an) will send out his angels,(ao) and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(ap) 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun(aq) in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.(ar)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like(as) treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.(at)
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like(au) a merchant looking for fine pearls. 46 When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 "Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like(av) a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds(aw) of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous(ax) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(ay)
51 "Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked.
"Yes," they replied.
52 He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."
A Prophet Without Honor(az)
53 When Jesus had finished these parables,(ba) he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue,(bb) and they were amazed.(bc) "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 55 "Isn't this the carpenter's son?(bd) Isn't his mother's(be) name Mary, and aren't his brothers(bf) James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57 And they took offense(bg) at him.
But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home."(bh)
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
