the Third Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
April 1 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
Numbers 30-31
Chapter 30
Vows
1 [a]Moses said to the heads of the tribes of Israel:(a) "This is what the Lord commands: 2 When a man makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath to obligate himself by a pledge, he must not break his word but must do everything he said.(b)
3 "When a young woman still living in her father's household makes a vow to the Lord or obligates herself by a pledge 4 and her father hears about her vow or pledge but says nothing to her, then all her vows and every pledge by which she obligated herself will stand.(c) 5 But if her father forbids her(d) when he hears about it, none of her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand; the Lord will release her because her father has forbidden her.
6 "If she marries after she makes a vow(e) or after her lips utter a rash promise by which she obligates herself 7 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her, then her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 8 But if her husband(f) forbids her when he hears about it, he nullifies the vow that obligates her or the rash promise by which she obligates herself, and the Lord will release her.(g)
9 "Any vow or obligation taken by a widow or divorced woman will be binding on her.
10 "If a woman living with her husband makes a vow or obligates herself by a pledge under oath 11 and her husband hears about it but says nothing to her and does not forbid her, then all her vows or the pledges by which she obligated herself will stand. 12 But if her husband nullifies them when he hears about them, then none of the vows or pledges that came from her lips will stand.(h) Her husband has nullified them, and the Lord will release her. 13 Her husband may confirm or nullify any vow she makes or any sworn pledge to deny herself.[b] 14 But if her husband says nothing to her about it from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or the pledges binding on her. He confirms them by saying nothing to her when he hears about them. 15 If, however, he nullifies them(i) some time after he hears about them, then he must bear the consequences of her wrongdoing."
16 These are the regulations the Lord gave Moses concerning relationships between a man and his wife, and between a father and his young daughter still living at home.
Chapter 31
Vengeance on the Midianites
1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Take vengeance on the Midianites(a) for the Israelites. After that, you will be gathered to your people.(b)"
3 So Moses said to the people, "Arm some of your men to go to war against the Midianites so that they may carry out the Lord 's vengeance(c) on them. 4 Send into battle a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel." 5 So twelve thousand men armed for battle,(d) a thousand from each tribe, were supplied from the clans of Israel. 6 Moses sent them into battle,(e) a thousand from each tribe, along with Phinehas(f) son of Eleazar, the priest, who took with him articles from the sanctuary(g) and the trumpets(h) for signaling.
7 They fought against Midian, as the Lord commanded Moses,(i) and killed every man.(j) 8 Among their victims were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba(k)—the five kings of Midian.(l) They also killed Balaam son of Beor(m) with the sword.(n) 9 The Israelites captured the Midianite women(o) and children and took all the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder.(p) 10 They burned(q) all the towns where the Midianites had settled, as well as all their camps.(r) 11 They took all the plunder and spoils, including the people and animals,(s) 12 and brought the captives, spoils(t) and plunder to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the Israelite assembly(u) at their camp on the plains of Moab, by the Jordan across from Jericho.(v)
13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp. 14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army(w)—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.
15 "Have you allowed all the women to live?" he asked them. 16 "They were the ones who followed Balaam's advice(x) and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident,(y) so that a plague(z) struck the Lord 's people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man,(aa) 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.
19 "Anyone who has killed someone or touched someone who was killed(ab) must stay outside the camp seven days.(ac) On the third and seventh days you must purify yourselves(ad) and your captives. 20 Purify every garment(ae) as well as everything made of leather, goat hair or wood.(af)"
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the soldiers who had gone into battle,(ag) "This is what is required by the law that the Lord gave Moses: 22 Gold, silver, bronze, iron,(ah) tin, lead 23 and anything else that can withstand fire must be put through the fire,(ai) and then it will be clean. But it must also be purified with the water of cleansing.(aj) And whatever cannot withstand fire must be put through that water. 24 On the seventh day wash your clothes and you will be clean.(ak) Then you may come into the camp.(al)"
Dividing the Spoils
25 The Lord said to Moses, 26 "You and Eleazar the priest and the family heads(am) of the community are to count all the people(an) and animals that were captured.(ao) 27 Divide(ap) the spoils equally between the soldiers who took part in the battle and the rest of the community. 28 From the soldiers who fought in the battle, set apart as tribute for the Lord (aq) one out of every five hundred, whether people, cattle, donkeys or sheep. 29 Take this tribute from their half share and give it to Eleazar the priest as the Lord 's part. 30 From the Israelites' half, select one out of every fifty, whether people, cattle, donkeys, sheep or other animals. Give them to the Levites, who are responsible for the care of the Lord 's tabernacle.(ar)" 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.
32 The plunder remaining from the spoils(as) that the soldiers took was 675,000 sheep, 33 72,000 cattle, 34 61,000 donkeys 35 and 32,000 women who had never slept with a man.
36 The half share of those who fought in the battle was:
337,500 sheep, 37 of which the tribute for the Lord (at) was 675;
38 36,000 cattle, of which the tribute for the Lord was 72;
39 30,500 donkeys, of which the tribute for the Lord was 61;
40 16,000 people, of whom the tribute for the Lord was 32.
41 Moses gave the tribute to Eleazar the priest as the Lord 's part,(au) as the Lord commanded Moses.(av)
42 The half belonging to the Israelites, which Moses set apart from that of the fighting men— 43 the community's half—was 337,500 sheep, 44 36,000 cattle, 45 30,500 donkeys 46 and 16,000 people. 47 From the Israelites' half, Moses selected one out of every fifty people and animals, as the Lord commanded him, and gave them to the Levites, who were responsible for the care of the Lord 's tabernacle.
48 Then the officers(aw) who were over the units of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—went to Moses 49 and said to him, "Your servants have counted(ax) the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.(ay) 50 So we have brought as an offering to the Lord the gold articles each of us acquired—armlets, bracelets, signet rings, earrings and necklaces—to make atonement for ourselves(az) before the Lord ."
51 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted from them the gold—all the crafted articles. 52 All the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds that Moses and Eleazar presented as a gift to the Lord weighed 16,750 shekels.[a] 53 Each soldier had taken plunder(ba) for himself. 54 Moses and Eleazar the priest accepted the gold from the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds and brought it into the tent of meeting(bb) as a memorial(bc) for the Israelites before the Lord .
Job 1
Chapter 1
Prologue
1 In the land of Uz(a) there lived a man whose name was Job.(b) This man was blameless(c) and upright;(d) he feared God(e) and shunned evil.(f) 2 He had seven sons(g) and three daughters,(h) 3 and he owned seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys,(i) and had a large number of servants.(j) He was the greatest man(k) among all the people of the East.(l)
4 His sons used to hold feasts(m) in their homes on their birthdays, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would make arrangements for them to be purified.(n) Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering(o) for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned(p) and cursed God(q) in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.
6 One day the angels[a](r) came to present themselves before the Lord , and Satan[b](s) also came with them.(t) 7 The Lord said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"
Satan answered the Lord , "From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it."(u)
8 Then the Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job?(v) There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God(w) and shuns evil."(x)
9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?"(y) Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge(z) around him and his household and everything he has?(aa) You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.(ab) 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has,(ac) and he will surely curse you to your face."(ad)
12 The Lord said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has(ae) is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."(af)
Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord .
13 One day when Job's sons and daughters(ag) were feasting(ah) and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 14 a messenger came to Job and said, "The oxen were plowing and the donkeys were grazing(ai) nearby, 15 and the Sabeans(aj) attacked and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
16 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The fire of God fell from the heavens(ak) and burned up the sheep and the servants,(al) and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
17 While he was still speaking, another messenger came and said, "The Chaldeans(am) formed three raiding parties and swept down on your camels and made off with them. They put the servants to the sword, and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!"
18 While he was still speaking, yet another messenger came and said, "Your sons and daughters(an) were feasting(ao) and drinking wine at the oldest brother's house, 19 when suddenly a mighty wind(ap) swept in from the desert and struck the four corners of the house. It collapsed on them and they are dead,(aq) and I am the only one who has escaped to tell you!(ar)"
20 At this, Job got up and tore his robe(as) and shaved his head.(at) Then he fell to the ground in worship(au) 21 and said:
"Naked I came from my mother's womb,
and naked I will depart.[c](av)
The
Lord
gave and the
Lord
has taken away;(aw)
may the name of the
Lord
be praised."(ax)
22 In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing.(ay)
Matthew 25:1-30
Chapter 25
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1 "At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like(a) ten virgins who took their lamps(b) and went out to meet the bridegroom.(c) 2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.(d) 3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. 4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. 5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.(e)
6 "At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here's the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!'
7 "Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.'(f)
9 "‘No,' they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.'
10 "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.(g) And the door was shut.
11 "Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,' they said, ‘open the door for us!'
12 "But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don't know you.'(h)
13 "Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.(i)
The Parable of the Bags of Gold(j)
14 "Again, it will be like a man going on a journey,(k) who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. 15 To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag,[a] each according to his ability.(l) Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. 17 So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. 18 But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19 "After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.(m) 20 The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,' he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.'
21 "His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(n) Come and share your master's happiness!'
22 "The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,' he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.'
23 "His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.(o) Come and share your master's happiness!'
24 "Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,' he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'
26 "His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.
28 "‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. 29 For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.(p) 30 And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'(q)
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