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day1
GENESIS 1:12:17
The Beginning
DAY 1
28God blessed them and said to them,
Be fruitf ul and increase in number; fill
the e arth and subdue it. Rule over the
fish in the sea and the birds in the sky
and over every living creat ure that moves
on the ground.
29Then God said, I give you every
seed-bearing p
lant on the face of the
whole earth and every tree that has fruit
with seed in it. They will be y ours for
food. 30And to all the beasts of the earth
and all the birds in the sky and all the
creat ures that move along the ground
everything that has the breath of life in
itI give every g reen p
lant for food.
And it wasso.
31God saw all that he had made, and
it was very good. And there was evening,
and there was morningthe sixth day.
2
t rees that were pleasing to the eye and good
for food. In the midd le of the garden were the
tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil.
10A river watering the garden f lowed from
Eden; from there it was sepa rated into four
headw aters. 11The name of the first is the
Pishon; it w inds through the entire land of
Hav i lah, where t here is gold. 12(The gold of
that land is good; aromatic resind and onyx are
also there.) 13The name of the second river is
the Gihon; it w inds through the entire land of
Cush.e 14The name of the t hird river is the Ti
gris; it runs a long the east side of Ashur. And
the fourth river is the Euphrates.
15The Lord God took the man and put
him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take
care of it. 16And the Lord God commanded
the man, You are free to eat from any tree in
the garden; 17but you must not eat from the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for
when you eat from it you will certainly die.
MATTHEW 1:11:25
The Genealogy of Jesus the Messiah
a5Orland; also in verse6 b6Ormist c7 TheHebrew for man (adam) sounds like and may be
related to the Hebrew for ground (adamah); it is also the name Adam (see verse20). d12Orgood; pearls
e13Possibly southeast Mesopotamia f1Oris an account of the origin g1OrJesus Christ. Messiah
(Hebrew) and Christ (Greek) both mean Anointed One; also in verse 18.
DAY 1
3
Dav id was the father of Solomon, whose
mother had been Uriahs wife,
7 Solomon the fat her of Rehoboa m,
Rehoboam the father of Abijah,
Abijah the father of Asa,
8 Asa the fat her of Jehoshaphat,
Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,
Jehoram the father of Uzziah,
9 Uzzia h the fat her of Jot ham,
Jotham the father of Ahaz,
Ahaz the father of Hezek iah,
10 Hezek ia h the fat her of Manasseh,
Manasseh the father of Amon,
Amon the father of Josiah,
11 and Josia h the fat her of Jecon ia h a and
his brothers at the time of the exile
to Babylon.
12 After the exile to Babylon:
Jeconia h was the father of Shea ltiel,
Shea ltiel the father of Zer ubbabel,
13 Zer ubbabel the fat her of Abihud,
Abihud the father of Eliak im,
Eliak im the father of Azor,
14 Azor the fat her of Zadok,
Zadok the father of Akim,
Akim the father of Elihud,
15 Elihud the fat her of Eleaz ar,
Eleazar the father of Matthan,
Matthan the father of Jacob,
16 and Ja
cob the father of Joseph, the
husband of Mary, and Mary was
the mother of Jesus who is called
the Messia h.
17Thus t here were four teen generat ions in
all from Abraham to Dav id, fourteen from
Dav id to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen
from the exile to the Messiah.
PSALM 1:11:6
Psalm 1
1 Blessed
is the one
who does not walk in step with the
wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
2 but whose delight is in the law of the
Lord,
and who meditates on his law day and
night.
3 That person is like a tree planted by
streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither
whatever they do prospers.
4 Not so the wicked!
They are like chaff
that the wind blows away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the
judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the
righteous.
6 For the Lord watches over the way of the
righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to
destruction.
a11 That is, Jehoiachin; also in verse12 b18OrThe origin of Jesus the Messiah was like this c19Orwas
a righteous man and d21 Jesus is the Greek form of Joshua, which means the Lord saves. e23 Isaiah7:14
DAY 2
REWIND
Genesis 1:12:17; Matthew 1; Psalm 1
day2
GENESIS 2:184:16
18The Lord God said, It is not good for
the man to be a lone. I will make a helper suit
able for him.
19Now the Lord God had
formed out of
the g round all the wild animals and all the
birds in the sky. He brought them to the man
to see what he would name them; and what
ever the man called each living creat ure, that
was its name. 20So the man gave names to all
the livestock, the birds in the sky and all the
wild animals.
But for Adama no suitable helper was f ound.
21So the Lord God c
aused the man to fall
into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping,
he took one of the mans ribsb and then closed
up the p
lace with f lesh. 22Then the Lord God
made a woman from the ribc he had taken out
of the man, and he brought her to the man.
4
23The
man said,
DAY 2
5
12The man said, The woma n you put here
with meshe gave me some fruit from the
tree, and I ateit.
13Then the Lord God said to the woma n,
What is this you have done?
The woma n said, The serpent deceived
me, and I ate.
14So the Lord God said to the ser
pent,
Because you have done this,
a15Orseed b15Orstrike c20,1 OrThe man d20 Eve probably means living. e24Orplaced
in front f1 Cain sounds like the Hebrew for brought forth or acquired. g1Orhave acquired
h8 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Masoretic Text does not have Lets go out to
the field.
DAY 2
its mouth to receive your brothers blood from
your hand. 12When you work the g round, it
will no longer y ield its crops for you. You will
be a restless wanderer on the earth.
13Cain said to the Lord, My punishment is
more than I can bear. 14Today you are driving
me from the land, and I will be hidden from
your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on
the earth, and whoever f inds me will killme.
15But the Lord said to him, Not soa; any
one who k ills Cain will suffer vengeance seven
times over. Then the Lord put a mark on Cain
so that no one who found him would kill him.
16So Cain went out from the Lords presence
and lived in the land of Nod,b east of Eden.
MATTHEW 2:12:18
The Magi Visit the Messiah
6
it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over
the place w
here the c hild was. 10When they
saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11On com
ing to the house, they saw the child with his
mother Mary, and they bowed down and wor
shiped him. Then they opened t heir treasures
and presented him with gifts of gold, frankin
cense and myrrh. 12And having been w
arned
in a d
ream not to go back to Herod, they re
turned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13When they had gone, an an
gel of the
Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. Get up,
he said, take the c hild and his mother and
escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you,
for Herod is going to s earch for the child to
kill him.
14So he got up, took the c
hild and his
mother during the n
ight and left for Egypt,
15where he stayed unt il the death of Hero d.
And so was fulf illed what the Lord had said
t hrough the prophet: Out of E
gypt I called
my son.e
16When Hero d rea lized that he had been
outw itted by the Magi, he was fur ious, and
he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethle
hem and its vicinit y who were two years old
and under, in accordance with the time he had
learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said
through the prophet Jeremiah was fulf illed:
PSALM 2:12:12
7Then
Psalm 2
1 Why
do the nations conspireg
and the peoples plot in vain?
2 The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord and against his
anointed, saying,
a15 Septuagint, Vulgate and Syriac; Hebrew Very well b16 Nod means wandering (see verses 12 and 14).
c1Traditionally wise men d6Micah5:2,4 e15Hosea11:1 f18Jer.31:15 g1Hebrew;
Septuagint rage
DAY 3
7
3 Let us break their chains
and throw off their shackles.
4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
5 He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
6 I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.
7I
REWIND
Genesis 2:184:16; Matthew 2:118;
Psalm 2
day3
GENESIS 4:176:22
17Cain
a9Orwill rule them with an iron scepter (see Septuagint and Syriac) b22Orwho instructed all who work in
c25 Seth probably means granted. d26Orto proclaim
DAY 3
When God created mank ind, he made
them in the likeness of God. 2He created
them male and female and blessed them. And
he named them Mank inda when they were
created.
3When Adam had l ived 130 years, he had a
son in his own likeness, in his own image; and
he named him Seth. 4After Seth was born,
Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and
daughters. 5Altogether, Adam lived a total of
930 years, and then he died.
6When Seth had l ived 105 years, he became
the father b of Enosh. 7After he became the fa
ther of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had
other sons and daughters. 8Altogether, Seth
lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9When
Enosh had lived 90 years, he be
came the father of Kenan. 10After he became
the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years
and had other sons and daughters. 11Alto
gether, E
nosh lived a total of 905 years, and
then he died.
12When Kenan had lived 70 years, he be
came the father of Mahalalel. 13After he be
came the fat her of Ma ha la lel, Kenan l ived
840 years and had other sons and daughters.
14Altogether, Kenan l ived a total of 910 years,
and then he died.
15When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he
became the father of Jared. 16After he became
the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years
and had other sons and daughters.17Altogeth
er, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 y ears, and
then he died.
18When Jared had lived 162 years, he be
came the father of Enoch. 19After he became
the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and
had other sons and daughters. 20Altogether,
Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he
died.
21When E
noch had lived 65 years, he be
came the father of Methuselah. 22After he be
came the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked
faithf ully with God 300 years and had other
sons and daughters. 23Altogether, Enoch lived
a total of 365 years. 24Enoch walked faithf ully
with God; then he was no more, because God
took him away.
8
25When Met hus el ah had l ived 187 y ears,
he became the fat her of Lamech. 26After he
became the fat her of Lamech, Met husel ah
lived 782 years and had other sons and daugh
ters. 27Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of
969 years, and then he died.
28When La
mech had lived 182 years, he
had a son. 29He named him Noahc and said,
He will comfort us in the labor and painf ul
toil of our hands caused by the g round the
Lord has c ursed. 30After Noah was born,
Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons
and daughters. 31Altogether, Lamech l ived a
total of 777 years, and then he died.
32After Noah was 500 years old, he became
the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Wickedness in theWorld
a2Hebrewadam b6 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 7-26. c29 Noah sounds like the
Hebrew for comfort. d3OrMy spirit will not remain in e3Orcorrupt
DAY 3
9
Noah was a righ
t eous man, blame
l ess
a mong the people of his time, and he walked
faithf ul ly with God. 10Noah had t hree sons:
Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11Now the earth was corr upt in Gods sight
and was full of violence. 12God saw how cor
rupt the earth had become, for all the peo
ple on earth had corr upted their ways. 13So
God said to Noah, I am going to put an end
to all people, for the earth is f illed with vio
lence because of them. I am surely going to
destroy both them and the earth. 14So make
yourself an ark of cypressa wood; make r ooms
in it and coat it with pitch inside and out.
15This is how you are to b
uild it: The ark is
to be three hund red cubits long, fift y cubits
wide and thirt y cubits high.b 16Make a roof
for it, leaving below the roof an opening one
cubitc high all a round.d Put a door in the side
of the ark and make lower, midd le and upper
decks.17I am going to bring f loodwaters on
the earth to destroy all life under the heavens,
every creat ure that has the breath of life in it.
Every thing on earth will perish. 18But I will
establish my covenant with you, and you will
enter the arkyou and your sons and your
wife and your sons w ives with you. 19You are
to bring into the ark two of all living crea
tures, male and female, to keep them a live
with you. 20Two of every kind of bird, of every
kind of animal and of every kind of creat ure
that moves a long the g round will come to you
to be kept a live. 21You are to take every kind
of food that is to be eaten and store it away as
food for you and for them.
22Noah did ev
erything just as God com
manded him.
MATTHEW 2:193:17
The Return to Nazareth
19After Herod died, an angel of the Lord
appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20and
said, Get up, take the c hild and his moth
er and go to the land of Israel, for t hose who
were trying to take the childs life are dead.
21So he got up, took the
c hild and his
a14 Themeaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. b15 That is, about 450 feet long, 75 feet
wide and 45 feet high or about 135 meters long, 23 meters wide and 14 meters high c16 That is, about
18inches or about 45 centimeters d16 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
e3Isaiah40:3 f11 Orin
DAY 4
10
REWIND
Genesis 4:176:22;
Matthew 2:193:17; Psalm 3
PSALM 3:13:8
Psalm 3a
A psalm of David. When he fled
from his son Absalom.
day4
GENESIS 7:19:17
aIn Hebrew texts 3:1-8 is numbered 3:2-9. b2 The Hebrew has Selah (aword of uncertain meaning) here
DAY 4
11
and his sons and his wife and his sons w
ives
entered the ark to escape the waters of the
f lood. 8Pairs of c lean and unc lean animals,
of birds and of all creat ures that move a long
the ground, 9male and female, came to Noah
and entered the ark, as God had commanded
Noah. 10And after the seven days the flood
waters came on the earth.
11In the six hund redth year of Noa hs life,
on the seventeenth day of the second month
on that day all the springs of the g reat deep
burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens
were opened. 12And rain fell on the earth for
ty days and fort y nights.
13On that very day Noah and his sons,
Shem, Ham and Japheth, together with his
wife and the w ives of his t hree sons, entered
the ark. 14They had with them every wild ani
mal according to its kind, all livestock accord
ing to t heir k inds, every creat ure that m
oves
a long the g round according to its kind and
every bird according to its kind, everything
with w ings. 15Pairs of all creat ures that have
the breath of life in them came to Noah and
entered the ark. 16The animals going in were
male and female of every living thing, as God
had commanded Noah. Then the Lord shut
himin.
17For fort y days the f lood kept comi ng on
the e arth, and as the waters inc reased they
lifte d the ark high a bove the e arth. 18The
waters rose and increased greatly on the
earth, and the ark f loated on the surface of
the water. 19They rose greatly on the earth,
and all the high mountains under the ent ire
heavens were covered. 20The waters rose and
covered the mountains to a depth of more
than fif teen cubits. a,b 21Every liv i ng t hing
that m
oved on land perishedbirds, live
stock, wild anim als, all the creatures that
swarm over the earth, and all mank ind.
22Everyt hing on dry land that had the breath
of life in its nostrils died. 23Eve ry liv i ng
t hing on the face of the earth was w iped out;
people and anim als and the creatures that
move a long the g round and the birds were
w iped from the earth. Only Noah was left,
and t hose with him in the ark.
a20 That is, about 23feet or about 6.8 meters b20Orrose more than fifteen cubits, and the mountains
were covered
DAY 4
e arth and be fruitf ul and increase in number
onit.
18So Noah came out, together with his sons
and his wife and his sons w ives. 19All the an
imals and all the creatures that move a long
the g round and all the birdseverything
that moves on landcame out of the ark, one
kind after another.
20Then Noah b
uilt an altar to the Lord
and, taking some of all the clean animals and
c lean birds, he sacr if iced burnt of fer ings on
it. 21The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma
and said in his heart: Never again will I curse
the ground because of humans, even thougha
every inc linat ion of the human heart is evil
from childhood. And never a gain will I de
stroy all living creat ures, as I have done.
22 As long as the earth endures,
seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night
will never cease.
Gods Covenant With Noah
Then God b
lessed Noah and his sons,
saying to them, Be fruitf ul and increase
in number and fill the e arth. 2The fear and
d read of you will fall on all the beasts of the
earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every
creature that moves a long the g round, and
on all the fish in the sea; they are given into
your hands. 3Every thing that lives and moves
about will be food for you. Just as I gave you
the green plants, I now give you everything.
4But you must not eat meat that has its life
blood still in it. 5And for your lifeblood I will
surely demand an accounting. I will demand
an accounting from every animal. And from
each human being, too, I will demand an ac
counting for the life of another human being.
6 Whoever sheds human blood,
by humans shall their blood be shed;
for in the image of God
has God made mankind.
7As for you, be fruitf ul and increase in number;
12
8Then God said to Noah and to his sons
with him: 9I now establish my covenant
with you and with your descendants after you
10and with every living creat ure that was with
youthe birds, the livestock and all the wild
animals, all those that came out of the ark
with you every living creat ure on earth. 11I
establish my covenant with you: Never again
will all life be destroyed by the waters of a
f lood; never a gain will there be a f lood to de
stroy the earth.
12And God said, This is the sign of the
covenant I am making bet ween me and you
and every living creat ure with you, a covenant
for all generations to come: 13I have set my
rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign
of the covenant between me and the earth.
14Whenever I b
ring clouds over the earth and
the rainbow appears in the c louds, 15I will
remember my covenant bet ween me and you
and all living creat ures of every kind. Never
again will the waters become a f lood to de
stroy all life. 16Whenever the rainbow appears
in the c louds, I will see it and remember the
everlasting covenant bet ween God and all liv
ing creat ures of every kind on the earth.
17So God said to Noah, This is the sign of
the covenant I have established bet ween me
and all life on the earth.
MATTHEW 4:14:22
Jesus Is Tested in the Wilderness
a21Orhumans, for b1 TheGreek for tempted can also mean tested. c4Deut.8:3
DAY 4
13
and they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot
against a stone.a
7Jesus an
s wered him, It is also written:
Do not put the Lord your God to the test.b
8Again, the devil took him to a very high
mountain and showed him all the kingdoms
of the w
orld and their splendor. 9All this I
will give you, he said, if you will bow down
and worshipme.
10Jesus said to him, Away from me, Satan!
For it is written: Worship the Lord your God,
and serve him only.c
11Then the devi l left him, and angels came
and attended him.
Jesus h
eard that John had been put
in prison, he withd rew to Galilee. 13Leaving
Naza reth, he went and l ived in Capernaum,
which was by the lake in the area of Zebu
lun and Naphtali 14to fulf ill what was said
through the prophet Isaiah:
15 Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali,
the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles
16 the people living in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of the shadow
of death
a light has dawned.d
17From
PROVERBS 1:11:7
REWIND
Genesis 7:19:17; Matthew 4:122;
Proverbs 1:17
rendered simple in Proverbs denotes a person who is gullible, without moral direction and inclined to evil.
f6Orunderstanding a proverb, namely, a parable, / and the sayings of the wise, their riddles g7The
Hebrew words rendered fool in Proverbs, and often elsewhere in the Old Testament, denote a person who
is morally deficient.
DAY 5
14
and may Canaan be the slave of
Japheth.
28Af
ter
29Noah
died.
day5
GENESIS 9:1811:9
The Sons of Noah
18The
also said,
10
a20Orsoil, was the first b27 Japheth sounds like the Hebrew for extend. c2 Sons may mean
descendants or successors or nations; also in verses 3, 4, 6, 7, 20-23, 29 and 31. d4 Some manuscripts of the
Masoretic Text and Samaritan Pentateuch (see also Septuagint and 1Chron. 1:7); most manuscripts of the
Masoretic Text Dodanites e8 Father may mean ancestor or predecessor or founder; also in verses 13, 15, 24
and 26. f10OrUruk and Akkadall of them in g10 That is, Babylonia h11OrNineveh with its
city squares
DAY 5
15
hites (from whom the Phi
l is
t ines
came) and Caphtorites.
15 Canaan was the fatherof
Sidon his firstborn,a and of the Hittites,
16Jebu s ites, Amor ites, Gir g a s hites,
17Hiv ites, Ark ites, Sinites,18Ar vadites,
Zemarites and Hamathites.
Later the Canaanite c lans scat tered 19and
the borders of Canaan reached from Sidon to
ward Gerar as far as Gaza, and then toward
Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, as
far as Lasha.
20These are the sons of Ham by t heir c lans
and lang uages, in their territories and nations.
The Semites
21Sons were also born to Shem, whose older
brother was b Japheth; Shem was the ancestor
of all the sons of Eber.
11
Now the w
hole w
orld had one lan
guage and a common speech. 2As
people moved eastward, f they found a plain in
Shinar g and sett led there.
3They said to each other, Come, lets make
bricks and bake them thoroughly. They used
brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
4Then they said, Come, let us
build our
selves a city, with a tower that reaches to the
heavens, so that we may make a name for our
selves; otherw ise we will be scattered over the
face of the whole earth.
5But the Lord came down to see the city
and the tower the people were building. 6The
Lord said, If as one people speaking the
same lang uage they have beg un to do this,
then nothing they plan to do will be impos
sible for them. 7Come, let us go down and
conf use their lang uage so they will not under
stand each other.
8So the Lord scat
tered them from there
over all the earth, and they stopped building
the city. 9That is why it was c alled Babelh
because there the Lord conf used the lang uage
of the w
hole w
orld. From there the Lord scat
tered them over the face of the whole earth.
MATTHEW 4:235:20
Jesus Heals the Sick
23Jesus
a15Orof the Sidonians, the foremost b21OrShem, the older brother of c23 SeeSeptuagint and
1Chron. 1:17; Hebrew Mash. d24 Hebrew; Septuagint father of Cainan, and Cainan was the father of
e25 Peleg means division. f2Orfrom the east; or in the east g2 That is, Babylonia h9 That is,
Babylon; Babel sounds like the Hebrew for confused. i25 That is, the Ten Cities
DAY 5
16
He said:
3 Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of
God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11Blessed
PSALM 4:14:8
Psalm 4a
For the director of music. With stringed
instruments. Apsalm ofDavid.
aIn Hebrew texts 4:1-8 is numbered 4:2-9. b2Orseek lies c2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of
uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse4. d4OrIn your anger (see Septuagint)
DAY 6
17
REWIND
Genesis 9:1811:9;
Matthew 4:235:20; Psalm 4
day6
GENESIS 11:1013:18
From Shem to Abram
10This
a10 Father may mean ancestor; also in verses 11-25. b12,13 Hebrew; Septuagint (see also Luke 3:35, 36
and note at Gen. 10:24) 35 years, he became the father of Cainan. 13And after he became the father of Cainan,
Arphaxad lived 430 years and had other sons and daughters, and then he died. When Cainan had lived 130 years,
he became the father of Shelah. And after he became the father of Shelah, Cainan lived 330 years and had other sons
and daughters
DAY 6
18
12
Abram in Egypt
10Now
13
a2Orbe seen as blessed b3Orearth / will use your name in blessings (see48:20) c7 Orseed
DAY 6
19
well watered, like the garden of the Lord,
like the land of Egypt. (This was before the
Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11So
Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the
Jordan and set out toward the east. The two
men parted company: 12Abram lived in the
land of Canaan, while Lot lived a mong the
cities of the plain and pitched his tents near
Sodom. 13Now the people of Sodom were
wicked and were sinn ing greatly a gainst the
Lord.
14The Lord said to A bram after Lot had
parted from him, Look a round from where
you are, to the n
orth and south, to the east
and west. 15All the land that you see I will
give to you and your offspringa fore ver. 16I
will make your offspring like the dust of the
earth, so that if anyone could count the dust,
then your offspring c ould be counted. 17Go,
walk through the length and b
readth of the
land, for I am giving it to you.
18So A
bram went to live near the g reat
trees of Mamre at Hebron, where he p
itched
his tents. There he built an altar to the Lord.
MATTHEW 5:215:42
Murder
21You
have h
eard that it was said, You
shall not comm it adultery. f 28But I tell you
that anyone who looks at a woma n lustful
ly has already comm itted adultery with her
in his heart. 29If your right eye causes you to
stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is
better for you to lose one part of your body
than for your whole body to be thrown into
hell. 30And if your r ight hand causes you to
stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is bet
ter for you to lose one part of your body than
for your whole body to go into hell.
Divorce
31It has been said, Anyone who divorce s
his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.g
32But I tell you that anyone who divorces his
wife, except for sexua l immoralit y, makes her
the victim of adultery, and anyone who mar
ries a divorced woman commits adultery.
Oaths
33Again, you have heard that it was said to
the people long ago, Do not break your oath,
but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have
made. 34But I tell you, do not swear an oath
at all: either by heaven, for it is Gods throne;
35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by
Jer usalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
36And do not
s wear by your head, for you
cannot make even one hair white or black.
37All you need to say is simply Yes or No;
anything beyond this comes from the evil
one.h
a15Orseed; also in verse16 b21Exodus20:13 c22 The Greek word for brother or sister (adelphos)
refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verse23. d22 Some manuscripts brother or
sister without cause e22AnAramaic term of contempt f27Exodus20:14 g31Deut.24:1
h37Orfrom evil i38 Exodus21:24; Lev. 24:20; Deut. 19:21
DAY 7
20
PSALM 5:15:12
Psalm 5a
For the director of music. For pipes.
Apsalm ofDavid.
REWIND
Genesis 11:1013:18;
Matthew 5:2142; Psalm 5
day7
GENESIS 14:116:16
Abram Rescues Lot
14
aIn Hebrew texts 5:1-12 is numbered 5:2-13. b1 That is, Babylonia; also in verse9
DAY 7
21
Zoar). 3All these latter k ings joined forces in
the Valley of Sidd im (that is, the Dead Sea
Valley). 4For t welve y ears they had been sub
ject to Kedorlaomer, but in the thirteenth year
they rebelled.
5In the four teenth year, Kedorl aomer and
the k ings allied with him went out and de
feated the Repha ites in Ashteroth Karna im,
the Zuzites in Ham, the E
mites in Shaveh
Kiriathaim 6and the Horites in the hill coun
try of Seir, as far as El Paran near the des
ert. 7Then they t urned back and went to En
Mishpat (that is, Kadesh), and they conquered
the whole territor y of the Ama lekites, as well
as the Amorites who were living in Hazez on
Tamar.
8Then the king of Sod
om, the king of
Gomorrah, the king of Admah, the king of
Zeboyim and the king of Bela (that is, Zoar)
marched out and drew up t heir batt le lines in
the Valley of Sidd im 9against Kedorlaomer
king of Elam, Tidal king of Goyim, Amra
phel king of Shinar and Arioch king of Ella
sar four k ings against five. 10Now the Val
ley of Sidd im was full of tar pits, and when
the k ings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some
of the men fell into them and the rest fled to
the hills. 11The four k ings seized all the goods
of Sodom and Gomorrah and all t heir food;
then they went away. 12They also carr ied off
A brams nephew Lot and his possessions,
since he was living in Sodom.
13A man who had escaped came and report
ed this to A
bram the Hebrew. Now A
bram
was living near the g reat trees of Mamre the
Amor ite, a brother a of Eshkol and Aner, all
of whom were allied with A bram. 14When
Abram heard that his relative had been tak
en captive, he called out the 318 trained men
born in his household and went in pursuit as
far as Dan. 15During the n ight A bram di
vided his men to attack them and he routed
them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, n
orth
of Damasc us. 16He recovered all the goods
and brought back his relative Lot and his pos
sessions, together with the women and the
other people.
17Af t er A bram ret urned from defeat i ng
15
a13Ora relative; or an ally b1Orsovereign c1Orshield; / your reward will be very great
d2 Themeaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
DAY 7
22
16
Now Sarai, A
brams wife, had borne
him no child ren. But she had an
Egyptian slave named Hagar; 2so she said to
Abram, The Lord has kept me from having
child ren. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I
can build a family through her.
a5 Orseed b18Orriver c11 Ishmael means God hears. d12Orlive to the east / of e13Orseen
the back of f14 Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me.
23
MATTHEW 5:436:24
Love for Enemies
43You have
heard that it was said, Love
your neighbor a and hate your enemy. 44But I
tell you, love your enemies and pray for those
who persecute you, 45that you may be children
of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to
rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you
love those who love you, what rew ard will
you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing
that? 47And if you greet only your own people,
what are you doing more than others? Do not
even pagans do that? 48Be perfect, therefore,
as your heavenly Father is perfect.
DAY 7
Fasting
Prayer
5And
Treasures in Heaven
19Do not store up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moths and verm in destroy,
and where thieves b
reak in and steal. 20But
store up for yourselves treasures in heav
en, w
here moths and vermin do not destroy,
and where t hieves do not break in and steal.
21For where your treasure is, t here your heart
will be also.
22The eye is the lamp of the body. If your
eyes are healthy,d your whole body will be full
of l ight. 23But if your eyes are unhealthy,e
your w
hole body will be full of darkness. If
then the light within you is darkness, how
great is that darkness!
24No one can
serve two masters. Either
you will hate the one and love the other, or you
will be devoted to the one and despise the oth
er. You cannot serve both God and money.
a43Lev.19:18 b13 TheGreek for temptation can also mean testing. c13Orfrom evil; some late
manuscripts one, / for yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. d22 TheGreek for
healthy here implies generous. e23 TheGreek for unhealthy here implies stingy.
DAY 8
24
PSALM 6:16:10
Psalm
6a
REWIND
Genesis 1416; Matthew 5:436:24;
Psalm 6
day8
GENESIS 17:118:33
The Covenant ofCircumcision
17
aIn Hebrew texts 6:1-10 is numbered 6:2-11. bTitle: Probably a musical term c1Hebrew El-Shaddai
d5 Abram means exalted father. e5 Abraham probably means father of many.
25
sion, and it will be the sign of the covenant
between me and you. 12For the generat ions
to come every male a mong you who is e ight
days old must be circumcised, including t hose
born in your household or bought with mon
ey from a foreignerthose who are not your
offspring. 13Whether born in your household
or bought with your money, they must be cir
cumcised. My covenant in your f lesh is to be
an everlasting covenant. 14Any uncircumcised
male, who has not been circ umc ised in the
f lesh, will be cut off from his people; he has
broken my covenant.
15God also said to Abraham, As for Sarai
your wife, you are no longer to call her Sarai;
her name will be Sara h. 16I will bless her and
will surely give you a son by her. I will bless
her so that she will be the mother of nations;
k ings of peoples will come from her.
17Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and
said to himself, Will a son be born to a man
a hund red years old? Will Sara h bear a child
at the age of ninet y? 18And Abraham said to
God, If only Ishmael might live under your
blessing!
19Then God said, Yes, but your wife Sar
ah will bear you a son, and you will call him
Isaac. a I will establish my covenant with him
as an everlasting covenant for his descendants
after him. 20And as for Ishmael, I have heard
you: I will surely bless him; I will make him
fruitf ul and will greatly increase his numbers.
He will be the fat her of t welve rulers, and I
will make him into a g reat nat ion. 21But my
covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom
Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.
22When he had finished speaking with Abra
ham, God went up from him.
23On that very day Abraham took his son
Ishmael and all those born in his household
or b
ought with his money, every male in his
household, and circumcised them, as God
told him. 24Abraham was ninet y-nine years
old when he was circ umcised, 25and his son
Ishmael was thirteen; 26Abraham and his son
Ishmael were both circ umcised on that very
day. 27And every male in Abrahams house
hold, inc luding those born in his household
18
a19 Isaac means he laughs. b3Oreyes, Lord c6 That is, probably about 36pounds or about
16kilograms
DAY 8
DAY 8
26
29Once
again he spoke to him, What if
only fort y are found there?
He said, For the sake of fort y, I will not
doit.
30Then he said, May the Lord not be an
gry, but let me speak. What if only thirt y can
be found there?
He answered, I will not do it if I find thir
ty there.
31Abra
ham said, Now that I have been
so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only
twent y can be found there?
He said, For the sake of twent y, I will not
destroyit.
32Then he said, May the Lord not be an
gry, but let me speak just once more. What if
only ten can be found there?
He ans wered, For the sake of ten, I will
not destroyit.
33When the Lord had finished speaking
with Abrah am, he left, and Abrah am re
turned home.
MATTHEW 6:257:23
Do Not Worry
25Therefore
a18Orwill use his name in blessings (see48:20) b22 Masoretic Text; an ancient Hebrew scribal tradition
but the Lord remained standing before Abraham c24Orforgive; also in verse26 d27Orsingle cubit to
your height
27
you need them. 33But seek f irst his kingdom
and his righteousness, and all these things
will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do
not worr y about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worr y a bout itself. Each day has enough trou
ble of its own.
Judging Others
DAY 8
PROVERBS 1:81:19
Warning Against the Invitation
ofSinfulMen
DAY 9
28
REWIND
Genesis 1718; Matthew 6:257:23;
Proverbs 1:819
day9
GENESIS 19:120:18
Sodom and Gomorrah Destroyed
19
29
ont stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the
d
mountains or you will be swept away!
18But Lot said to them, No, my lords,a
please! 19Yourb serv ant has found favor in
yourb eyes, and youb have s hown g reat kind
ness to me in sparing my life. But I cant flee
to the mountains; this disaster will overtake
me, and Ill die. 20Look, here is a town near
enough to run to, and it is small. Let me flee
to itit is very small, isnt it? Then my life
will be spared.
21He said to him, Very well, I will g rant
this request too; I will not overthrow the town
you speak of. 22But flee there quickly, because
I cannot do anything until you r each it. (That
is why the town was called Zoar.c)
23By the time Lot
reached Zoar, the sun
had risen over the land. 24Then the Lord
rained down burning sulfur on Sodom and
Gomorrah from the Lord out of the heav
ens. 25Thus he overthrew those cities and the
entire plain, destroying all those living in the
citiesa nd also the vegetation in the land.
26But L ots wife looked back, and she became
a pillar of salt.
27Early the next morning Abraham got up
and ret urned to the place where he had stood
before the Lord. 28He looked down toward
Sodom and Gomorrah, toward all the land of
the plain, and he saw dense smoke rising from
the land, like smoke from a furnace.
29So when God de
stroyed the cities of
the plain, he remembered Abraham, and he
brought Lot out of the catastrophe that over
threw the cities where Lot had lived.
Lot and His Daughters
30Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and
sett led in the mountains, for he was a fraid to
stay in Zoar. He and his two daughters lived
in a cave. 31One day the older daughter said to
the younger, Our father is old, and there is
no man a round here to give us childrenas is
the custom all over the earth. 32Lets get our
father to drink wine and then sleep with him
and preserve our family line t hrough our fa
ther.
DAY 9
33That n
ight they got their father to drink
wine, and the older daughter went in and s lept
with him. He was not a ware of it when she lay
down or when she gotup.
34The next day the older daughter said to
the younger, Last n
ight I s lept with my fa
ther. L ets get him to d rink wine a gain to
night, and you go in and sleep with him so
we can preserve our family line through our
fat her. 35So they got their father to d rink
wine that night also, and the younger daugh
ter went in and slept with him. Again he was
not aware of it when she lay down or when
she gotup.
36So both of L ots daughters became preg
nant by t heir father. 37The older daughter had
a son, and she named him Moabd ; he is the fa
ther of the Moabites of today. 38The younger
daughter also had a son, and she named him
Ben-Ammie; he is the father of the Ammon
itesf of today.
20
a18OrNo, Lord; or No, my lord b19 TheHebrew is singular. c22 Zoar means small. d37 Moab
sounds like the Hebrew for from father. e38 Ben-Ammi means son of my fathers people. f38Hebrew
Bene-Ammon
DAY 9
30
8Ear
ly the next morning Abimelek sum
moned all his off icials, and when he told them
all that had happened, they were very much
a fraid. 9Then Abimelek called Abra ham in
and said, What have you done to us? How
have I w
ronged you that you have b
rought
such g reat g uilt upon me and my kingdom?
You have done things to me that should nev
er be done. 10And Abimelek asked Abraham,
What was your reason for doing this?
11Abra
h am re
plied, I said to my
s elf,
There is surely no fear of God in this p
lace,
and they will kill me bec ause of my wife.
12Besides, she really is my sister, the daughter
of my father though not of my mother; and
she became my wife. 13And when God had
me wander from my fathers household, I said
to her, This is how you can show your love to
me: Everywhere we go, say of me, He is my
brother.
14Then Abimelek brought sheep and catt le
and male and female slaves and gave them to
Abraham, and he ret urned Sara h his wife to
him. 15And Abimelek said, My land is before
you; live wherever you like.
16To Sar
a h he said, I am giving your
brother a thousand shekels a of silver. This is
to cover the offense against you before all who
are with you; you are completely vindicated.
17Then Abraham prayed to God, and God
healed Abimelek, his wife and his female
slaves so they could have children again, 18for
the Lord had kept all the women in Abim
eleks household from conceiv ing because of
Abrahams wife Sarah.
MATTHEW 7:248:22
The Wise and Foolish Builders
24Therefore
a16 That is, about 25 pounds or about 12 kilograms b2 TheGreek word traditionally translated leprosy
DAY 9
31
Let it be done just as you believed it would.
And his servant was healed at that moment.
Jesus Heals Many
14When
PSALM 7:17:9
Psalm 7b
A shiggaionc ofDavid, which he sang to
the Lord concerning Cush, aBenjamite.
REWIND
Genesis 1920; Matthew 7:248:22;
Psalm 7:19
DAY 10
32
day10
GENESIS 21:123:20
The Birth of Isaac
21
a3 Isaac means he laughs. b12 Orseed c16 Hebrew; Septuagint the child d31 Beersheba can mean
DAY 10
33
of his forces ret urned to the land of the Phi
listines. 33Abraham planted a tama risk tree in
Beersheba, and there he called on the name
of the Lord, the Eternal God. 34And Abra
ham stayed in the land of the Philist ines for
a long time.
Abraham Tested
22
time lat
e r Abra
h am was told,
Milk ah is also a mother; she has b
orne sons
to your brother Nahor: 21Uz the firstborn,
Buz his brother, Kemuel (the father of Aram),
22Kesed, Hazo, Pild ash, Jidlaph and Bet hu
el. 23Bethuel became the father of Rebeka h.
Milk ah bore these e ight sons to Abrahams
brother Nahor. 24His concubine, whose name
was Reumah, also had sons: Tebah, Gaham,
Tahash and Maak ah.
The Death of Sarah
23
a13 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint and Syriac; most
manuscripts of the Masoretic Text a ram behind him b18 Orseed c18Orand all nations on earth will
use the name of your offspring in blessings (see48:20) d3Orthe descendants of Heth; also in verses 5, 7, 10,
16, 18 and 20
DAY 10
34
5The Hit
t ites replied to Abraham, 6Sir,
listen to us. You are a mighty prince a mong
us. Bury your dead in the choicest of our
tombs. None of us will refuse you his tomb for
burying your dead.
7Then Abraham rose and bowed down be
fore the people of the land, the Hittites. 8He
said to them, If you are willing to let me bury
my dead, then listen to me and intercede with
Ephron son of Zohar on my behalf 9so he will
sell me the cave of Machpelah, which belongs
to him and is at the end of his f ield. Ask him
to sell it to me for the full price as a buria l site
among you.
10Ephron the Hit
t ite was sitting a mong
his people and he replied to Abraham in the
hearing of all the Hitt ites who had come to
the gate of his city. 11No, my lord, he said.
Listen to me; I givea you the field, and I
givea you the cave that is in it. I givea it to
you in the presence of my people. Bury your
dead.
12Again Abraham b
owed down before the
people of the land 13and he said to Ephron in
their hearing, Listen to me, if you will. I will
pay the price of the f ield. Accept it from me so
I can bury my dead there.
14Ephron ans wered Abraham, 15Listen to
me, my lord; the land is w
orth four hund red
shekels b of silver, but what is that bet ween you
and me? Bury your dead.
16Abraham a greed to Ephrons terms and
weighed out for him the p
rice he had n
amed
in the hearing of the Hittites: four hund red
shekels of silver, according to the weight cur
rent among the merchants.
17So
Ephrons field in Machp elah near
Mamreboth the f ield and the cave in it,
and all the trees within the borders of the
f ield was deede d 18to Abrah am as his
propert y in the presence of all the Hittites
who had come to the gate of the city. 19Af
terw ard Abrah am buried his wife Sarah
in the cave in the f ield of Machp elah near
Mamre (which is at Hebron) in the land of
Canaan. 20So the f ield and the cave in it were
deeded to Abraham by the Hitt ites as a buri
al site.
MATTHEW 8:239:13
Jesus Calms the Storm
23Then he got into the boat and his disc i
ples followed him. 24Suddenly a furious storm
came up on the lake, so that the waves s wept
over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The
disciples went and woke him, saying, Lord,
save us! Were going to drown!
26He replied, You of litt le faith, why are
you so a fraid? Then he got up and rebuked
the w inds and the waves, and it was complete
ly calm.
27The men were a mazed and asked, What
kind of man is this? Even the w
inds and the
waves obey him!
a11 Orsell b15 That is, about 10 pounds or about 4.6 kilograms c28 Some manuscripts Gergesenes;
DAY 11
35
3At this, some of the teachers of the law said
to themselves, This fellow is blaspheming!
4Knowing t heir t houghts, Jesus said, Why
do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?
5Which is eas
ier: to say, Your sins are for
given, or to say, Get up and walk? 6But I
want you to know that the Son of Man has
authorit y on earth to forgive sins. So he said
to the para lyzed man, Get up, take your mat
and go home. 7Then the man got up and
went home. 8When the c rowd saw this, they
were f illed with awe; and they praised God,
who had given such authorit y to man.
PSALM 7:107:17
10 My shieldb is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who displays his wrath every
day.
12 If he does not relent,
c will sharpen his sword;
he
he will bend and string his bow.
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth to
disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made.
REWIND
Genesis 2123; Matthew 8:239:13;
Psalm 7:1017
day11
GENESIS 24:124:67
Isaac and Rebekah
24
DAY 11
36
a7 Orseed b10 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia c22 That is, about 1/5ounce or about 5.7 grams
d22 That is, about 4 ounces or about 115 grams
37
set before him, but he said, I will not eat until
I have told you what I have to say.
Then tell us, Laban said.
34So he said, I am Abra
hams serv ant.
35The Lord has blessed my master abundant
ly, and he has become wealthy. He has given
him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male
and female servants, and camels and donkeys.
36My masters wife Sara h has borne him a son
in her old age, and he has given him every
thing he owns. 37And my master made me
s wear an oath, and said, You must not get a
wife for my son from the daughters of the Ca
naanites, in w
hose land I live, 38but go to my
fathers family and to my own clan, and get a
wife for my son.
39Then I
asked my master, What if the
woman will not come back withme?
40He re
plied, The Lord, before whom
I have walked faithfully, will send his angel
with you and make your journey a success, so
that you can get a wife for my son from my
own clan and from my fat hers family. 41You
will be released from my oath if, when you go
to my clan, they refuse to give her to you
then you will be released from my oath.
42When I came to the
spring tod ay, I
said, Lord, God of my master Abraham, if
you will, please g rant success to the journey
on which I have come. 43See, I am standing
beside this spring. If a y oung woma n comes
out to draw water and I say to her, Please let
me drink a litt le water from your jar, 44and if
she says to me, Drink, and Ill draw water for
your camels too, let her be the one the Lord
has chosen for my masters son.
45Be
fore I finished praying in my h
eart,
Rebekah came out, with her jar on her shoul
der. She went down to the spring and drew
water, and I said to her, Please give me a
drink.
46She quick
ly lowered her jar from her
shoulder and said, Drink, and Ill water your
camels too. So I d
rank, and she watered the
camels also.
47I asked her, Whose daughter are you?
She said, The daughter of Bethuel son of
Nahor, whom Milk ah bore to him.
Then I put the ring in her nose and the
a55Orshe
DAY 11
DAY 11
38
MATTHEW 9:149:38
Jesus Questioned About Fasting
14Then
22Jesus
t urned and saw her. Take heart,
daughter, he said, your faith has healed
you. And the woman was healed at that mo
ment.
23When Jesus entered the synagogue lead
ers house and saw the noisy crowd and people
playing pipes, 24he said, Go away. The girl
is not dead but asleep. But they laughed at
him. 25After the crowd had been put outside,
he went in and took the girl by the hand, and
she got up. 26News of this spread through all
that region.
39
PSALM 8:18:9
Psalm
8a
REWIND
Genesis 24; Matthew 9:1438;
Psalm 8
DAY 12
day12
GENESIS 25:126:35
The Death of Abraham
25
aIn Hebrew texts 8:1-9 is numbered 8:2-10. bTitle: Probably a musical term c4Orwhat is a human
being that you are mindful of him, / a son of man that you care for him? d5 Orhim e5Orthan God
f6Ormade him ruler ...; / ... his g10Orthe descendants of Heth
DAY 12
40
are the n
ames of the sons of Ish
mael, listed in the order of their birth: Neba
ioth the firstborn of Ishmael, Kedar, Adbeel,
Mibsam, 14Mishma, Dumah, Massa, 15Ha
dad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish and Kedemah.
16These were the sons of Ishmael, and t hese
are the names of the t welve triba l rulers ac
cording to their sett lements and camps. 17Ish
mael l ived a hund red and thir t y-seven years.
He breathed his last and died, and he was
gathered to his people. 18His descendants set
tled in the area from Havilah to Shur, near
the eastern border of Egypt, as you go toward
Ashur. And they lived in hostilit y toward a all
the tribes related to them.
Jacob and Esau
19This is the account of the family line of
Abrahams son Isaac.
26
a18Orlived to the east of b20 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia c25 Esau may mean hairy.
d26 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he deceives. e30 Edom means red. f4 Orseed
g4Orand all nations on earth will use the name of your offspring in blessings (see48:20)
DAY 12
41
commands, my decrees and my instructions.
6So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
7When the men of that
place asked him
about his wife, he said, She is my sister, be
cause he was a fraid to say, She is my wife.
He thought, The men of this place m ight
kill me on account of Rebeka h, because she
is beautif ul.
8When I
saac had been there a long time,
Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down
from a window and saw Isaac caressing his
wife Reb ek a h. 9So Abimelek summoned
Isaac and said, She is really your wife! Why
did you say, She is my sister?
Isaac ans wered him, Because I t hought I
might lose my life on account of her.
10Then Abimelek said, What is this you
have done to us? One of the men might well
have slept with your wife, and you would have
brought g uilt uponus.
11So Abimelek gave orders to all the peo
ple: Anyone who harms this man or his wife
shall surely be put to death.
12Isaac planted c
rops in that land and the
same year reaped a hund redfold, because the
Lord blessed him. 13The man became rich,
and his wealth continued to grow until he be
came very w
ealthy. 14He had so many f locks
and herds and servants that the Philistines en
vied him. 15So all the wells that his fathers
serv ants had dug in the time of his father
Abra ham, the Phil ist ines stopped up, fill ing
them with earth.
16Then Abim
e lek said to Isaac, Move
away from us; you have become too powerf ul
forus.
17So Isaac moved away from t here and en
camped in the Valley of Gerar, where he set
tled. 18Isaac reopened the wells that had been
dug in the time of his father Abraham, which
the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham
died, and he gave them the same n
ames his
father had given them.
19Isaacs servants dug in the valley and dis
covered a well of fresh water t here. 20But the
herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac
and said, The water is ours! So he named
the well Esek,a because they disputed with
a20 Esek means dispute. b21 Sitnah means opposition. c22 Rehoboth means room. d33 Shibah can
mean oath or seven. e33 Beersheba can mean well of the oath and well of seven.
DAY 12
42
MATTHEW 10:110:31
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve
10
PROVERBS 1:201:33
Wisdoms Rebuke
a8 TheGreek word traditionally translated leprosy was used for various diseases affecting the skin.
b29Orwill; or knowledge c21 Septuagint; Hebrew /at noisy street corners
43
I will make known to you my teachings.
24 But since you refuse to listen when I call
and no one pays attention when I
stretch out my hand,
25 since you disregard all my advice
and do not accept my rebuke,
26 I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes
you;
I will mock when calamity overtakes
you
27 when calamity overtakes you like a storm,
when disaster sweeps over you like a
whirlwind,
when distress and trouble overwhelm
you.
28 Then they will call to me but I will not
answer;
they will look for me but will not
find me,
29 since they hated knowledge
and did not choose to fear the Lord.
30 Since they would not accept my advice
and spurned my rebuke,
31 they will eat the fruit of their ways
and be filled with the fruit of their
schemes.
32 For the waywardness of the simple will
kill them,
and the complacency of fools will
destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
and be at ease, without fear of harm.
REWIND
Genesis 2526; Matthew 10:131;
Proverbs 1:2033
DAY 13
day13
GENESIS 27:128:22
27
DAY 13
44
a36 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he takes advantage of or he deceives.
45
41Esau held a g rudge against Jacob because
of the blessing his fat her had given him. He
said to himself, The days of mourning for
my father are near; then I will kill my brother
Jacob.
42When Re
beka h was told what her old
er son Esau had said, she sent for her youn
ger son Jacob and said to him, Your brother
Esau is planning to a venge himself by killing
you. 43Now then, my son, do what I say: Flee
at once to my brother Laban in Harran. 44Stay
with him for a while until your brothers fury
subsides. 45When your brother is no longer an
gry with you and forgets what you did to him,
Ill send word for you to come back from there.
Why should I lose both of you in one day?
46Then Re
beka h said to Isaac, Im dis
gusted with living because of these Hittite
women. If Jacob takes a wife from among the
women of this land, from Hittite women like
these, my life will not be worth living.
So Isaac c alled for Jacob and b
lessed
him. Then he commanded him: Do
not marr y a Canaanite woma n. 2Go at once
to Paddan Aram,a to the house of your moth
ers father Bethuel. Take a wife for yourself
there, from a mong the daughters of Laban,
your mothers brother. 3May God Almightyb
bless you and make you fruitf ul and increase
your numbers until you become a communit y
of peoples. 4May he give you and your descen
dants the blessing given to Abraham, so that
you may take possession of the land where you
now reside as a foreigner, the land God gave to
Abraham. 5Then Isaac sent Jacob on his way,
and he went to Paddan Aram, to Laban son of
Bethuel the Aramean, the brother of Rebek
ah, who was the mother of Jacob and Esau.
6Now Esau learned that I
saac had b
lessed
Jacob and had sent him to Paddan Aram to
take a wife from there, and that when he
blessed him he commanded him, Do not
mar r y a Canaanite woma n, 7and that Jacob
had obeyed his father and mother and had
gone to Paddan Aram. 8Esau then rea l ized
how displeasing the Canaanite women were
28
DAY 13
a2 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verses 5, 6 and 7 b3Hebrew El-Shaddai c13OrThere
beside him d14Orwill use your name and the name of your offspring in blessings (see48:20) e19 Bethel
means house of God. f20,21OrSince God... fathers household, the Lord g21,22Orhousehold, and the
DAY 13
46
MATTHEW 10:3211:15
32Whoe ver ac k nowledges me before oth
ers, I will also ack nowledge before my Father
in heaven. 33But whoever disowns me before
others, I will disown before my Father in
heaven.
34Do not sup
p ose that I have come to
bring peace to the earth. I did not come to
bring p
eace, but a s word. 35For I have come
to turn
11
PSALM 9:19:6
Psalm 9f,g
For the director of music. To the tune of
The Death of the Son. Apsalm ofDavid.
a36Micah7:6 b1Greek in their towns c5 TheGreek word traditionally translated leprosy was used
for various diseases affecting the skin. d10Mal.3:1 e12Orbeen forcefully advancing fPsalms 9
and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive
letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm. gIn Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is
numbered 9:2-21.
47
4 For you have upheld my right and my
cause,
sitting enthroned as the righteous judge.
5 You have rebuked the nations and
destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name for ever
and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;
even the memory of them has perished.
REWIND
Genesis 2728;
Matthew 10:3211:15; Psalm 9:16
day14
GENESIS 29:130:43
29
DAY 14
DAY 14
48
30
a32 Reuben sounds like the Hebrew for he has seen my misery; the name means see, a son. b33 Simeon
probably means one who hears. c34 Levi sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for attached.
d35 Judah sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for praise. e6 Dan here means he has
vindicated. f8 Naphtali means my struggle. g11OrA troop is coming! h11 Gad can mean good
fortune or a troop. i13 Asher means happy.
49
Rachel said to Leah, Please give me some of
your sons mandrakes.
15But she said to her, Wasnt it
enough
that you took away my husband? Will you
take my sons mandrakes too?
Very well, Rachel said, he can sleep
with you tonight in ret urn for your sons man
drakes.
16So when Ja
cob came in from the fields
that even ing, Leah went out to meet him.
You must sleep with me, she said. I have
h ired you with my sons mand rakes. So he
slept with her that night.
17God lis
tened to Leah, and she became
pregnant and bore Jacob a f ifth son. 18Then
Leah said, God has rewarded me for giving
my serv ant to my husband. So she named
him Issachar. a
19Leah con
ceived again and bore Jacob a
sixth son. 20Then Leah said, God has pre
sented me with a precious gift. This time my
husband will t reat me with honor, because I
have borne him six sons. So she named him
Zebu lun. b
21Some time lat
e r she gave
birth to a
daughter and named her Dinah.
22Then God re
membered Rac hel; he lis
tened to her and enabled her to conceive.
23She be
came pregnant and gave b
irth to a
son and said, God has taken away my dis
grace. 24She named him Joseph,c and said,
May the Lord add to me another son.
Jacobs Flocks Increase
25After Rac hel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob
said to Laban, Send me on my way so I can
go back to my own homeland. 26Give me my
w ives and child ren, for whom I have s erved
you, and I will be on my way. You know how
much work Ive done for you.
27But Laban said to him, If I have found
favor in your eyes, p
lease stay. I have learned
by div inat ion that the Lord has blessed me
bec ause of you. 28He added, Name your
wages, and I will pay them.
29Ja
cob said to him, You know how I
have worked for you and how your livestock
has fared under my care. 30The litt le you had
DAY 14
a18 Issachar sounds like the Hebrew for reward. b20 Zebulun probably means honor. c24 Joseph
DAY 14
50
MATTHEW 11:1611:30
16To what can I compare this generat ion?
They are like child ren sitting in the market
places and calling out to others:
PSALM 9:79:12
7 The Lord reigns forever;
he has established his throne for
judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.
10 Those who know your name trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken
those who seek you.
11 Sing the praises of the Lord, enthroned in
Zion;
proclaim among the nations what he
has done.
12 For he who avenges blood remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the
afflicted.
REWIND
Genesis 2930; Matthew 11:1630;
Psalm 9:712
DAY 15
51
day15
GENESIS 31:131:55
Jacob Flees From Laban
31
DAY 15
52
MATTHEW 12:112:21
Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath
12
a47TheAramaic Jegar Sahadutha and the Hebrew Galeed both mean witness heap. b49 Mizpah means
watchtower. c55 In Hebrew texts this verse (31:55) is numbered 32:1.
DAY 15
53
Your disciples are doing what is unlawf ul on
the Sabbath.
3He an
s wered, Havent you read what
Dav id did when he and his companions were
hung ry? 4He entered the h
ouse of God, and
he and his companions ate the consec rated
breadwhich was not lawf ul for them to do,
but only for the priests. 5Or havent you read
in the Law that the priests on Sabbath duty in
the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are
innocent? 6I tell you that something greater
than the temple is here. 7If you had k nown
what these w
ords mean, I desire merc y, not
sacrif ice, a you would not have condemned the
innocent. 8For the Son of Man is Lord of the
Sabbath.
9Go
ing on from that place, he went into
their synagogue, 10and a man with a shriveled
hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring
charges against Jesus, they asked him, Is it
lawf ul to heal on the Sabbath?
11He said to them, If any of you has a
sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath,
will you not take hold of it and lift it out?
12How much more valuable is a person than
a sheep! Therefore it is lawf ul to do good on
the Sabbath.
13Then he said to the man, Stretch out
your hand. So he stretched it out and it was
completely restored, just as sound as the other.
14But the Pharisees went out and plotted how
they might kill Jesus.
Gods Chosen Servant
15Aware of this, Jesus withd rew from that
lace. A large c rowd followed him, and he
p
healed all who were ill. 16He warned them not
to tell others about him. 17This was to fulf ill
what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
PSALM 9:139:20
13 Lord, see how my enemies persecute me!
Have mercy and lift me up from the
gates of death,
14 that I may declare your praises
in the gates of Daughter Zion,
and there rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they
have dug;
their feet are caught in the net they have
hidden.
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of
their hands.c
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the
dead,
all the nations that forget God.
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope of the afflicted will never
perish.
19 Arise, Lord, do not let mortals triumph;
let the nations be judged in your
presence.
20 Strike them with terror, Lord;
let the nations know they are only
mortal.
REWIND
Genesis 31; Matthew 12:121;
Psalm 9:1320
a7 Hosea6:6 b21Isaiah42:1-4 c16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain
DAY 16
54
day16
GENESIS 32:133:20
32
10I
aIn Hebrew texts 32:1-32 is numbered 32:2-33. b2 Mahanaim means two camps. c7Orcamps
d8 Orcamp
55
Jacobs hip so that his hip was w renched as he
wrest led with the man. 26Then the man said,
Let me go, for it is daybreak.
But Jacob replied, I will not let you go un
less you blessme.
27The man
a sked him, What is your
name?
Jacob, he answered.
28Then the man said, Your name will no
longer be Jacob, but Israel, a because you have
struggled with God and with humans and
have overcome.
29Jacob said, Please tell me your name.
But he replied, Why do you ask my name?
Then he blessed him there.
30So Jacob called the place Pen iel, b saying,
It is because I saw God face to face, and yet
my life was spared.
31The sun rose above him as he passed Pe
niel, c and he was limping because of his hip.
32Therefore to this day the Isr aelites do not
eat the tendon attached to the socket of the
hip, because the socket of Jacobs hip was
touched near the tendon.
Jacob Meets Esau
33
DAY 16
8Esau a
sked, Whats the meaning of all
these f locks and herds I met?
To find favor in your eyes, my lord, he said.
9But Esau said, I already have plent y, my
brother. Keep what you have for yourself.
10No, please! said Jacob. If I have found
favor in your eyes, accept this gift from me.
For to see your face is like seeing the face
of God, now that you have received me fa
vorably. 11Please accept the present that was
brought to you, for God has been gracious to
me and I have all I need. And because Jacob
insisted, Esau acceptedit.
12Then Esau said, Let us be on our way;
Ill accompany you.
13But Ja
cob said to him, My lord k nows
that the child ren are tender and that I must
care for the ewes and cows that are nursing
their y oung. If they are driven hard just one
day, all the animals will die. 14So let my lord
go on ahead of his servant, while I move a long
slowly at the pace of the f locks and herds be
fore me and the pace of the child ren, unt il I
come to my lord in Seir.
15Esau said, Then let me leave some of my
men with you.
But why do that? Jacob a sked. Just let me
find favor in the eyes of my lord.
16So that day Esau started on his way back
to Seir. 17Jacob, however, went to Suk koth,
where he built a place for himself and made
shelters for his livestock. That is why the p
lace
is called Sukkoth. d
18Af
ter Jacob came from Paddan Aram,e
he arrived safely at the city of Shec hem in
Canaan and c amped within s ight of the city.
19For a hun
d red pieces of silver,f he bought
from the sons of Hamor, the father of She
chem, the plot of ground w
here he pitched his
tent. 20There he set up an altar and called it
El Elohe Israel. g
MATTHEW 12:2212:45
Jesus and Beelzebul
22Then they b
rought him a demon-possessed
man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed
a28 Israel probably means he struggles with God. b30 Peniel means face of God. c31Hebrew Penuel, a
variant of Peniel d17 Sukkoth means shelters. e18 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia f19Hebrew
hundred kesitahs; a kesitah was a unit of money of unknown weight and value. g20 El Elohe Israel can
DAY 16
56
40For
PROVERBS 2:12:11
Moral Benefits of Wisdom
57
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your
soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
and understanding will guard you.
REWIND
Genesis 3233; Matthew 12:2245;
Proverbs 2:111
day17
GENESIS 34:135:29
34
DAY 17
DAY 17
58
35
a27Orbecause b7 El Bethel means God of Bethel. c8 Allon Bakuth means oak of weeping. d9That
is, Northwest Mesopotamia; also in verse26 e10 Jacob means he grasps the heel, a Hebrew idiom for he
deceives. f10 Israel probably means he struggles with God. g11Hebrew El-Shaddai h15 Bethel
means house of God. i18 Ben-Oni means son of my trouble. j18 Benjamin means son of my right hand.
DAY 17
59
way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20Over
her tomb Jacob set up a pillar, and to this day
that pillar marks Rachels tomb.
21Is
rael moved on a gain and pitched his
tent beyond Migdal Eder. 22While Israel was
living in that region, Reuben went in and slept
with his fathers concubine Bilhah, and Israel
heard ofit.
Jacob had t welve sons:
23 The sons of Leah:
Reuben the firstborn of Jacob,
Simeon, Levi, Jud ah, Issac har and
Zebu lun.
24 The sons of Rachel:
Joseph and Benjamin.
25 The sons of Rachels servant Bilhah:
Dan and Naphtali.
26 The sons of Lea hs servant Zilpah:
Gad and Asher.
These were the sons of Jacob, who were
born to him in Paddan Aram.
27Ja
cob came home to his father Isaac in
Mamre, near Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron),
where Abraham and Isaac had stayed. 28Isaac
lived a hund red and e ighty years. 29Then he
breathed his last and died and was gathered to
his people, old and full of y ears. And his sons
Esau and Jacob buried him.
MATTHEW 12:4613:17
Jesus Mother and Brothers
46While
Jesus was
s till talk
i ng to the
c rowd, his mother and brothers stood outside,
wanting to speak to him. 47Someone told him,
Your mother and brothers are standing out
side, wanting to speak to you.
48He replied to him, Who is my mother,
and who are my brothers? 49Pointing to his
disciples, he said, Here are my mother and
my brothers. 50For whoever does the will of
my Father in heaven is my brother and sister
and mother.
13
DAY 18
60
PSALM 10:110:11
Psalm
10a
REWIND
Genesis 3435;
Matthew 12:4613:17; Psalm 10:111
understand and apply Gods words, like in Matthew 1213. Psalm 10 presents more tragic
pictures, like the wicked hunting the weak and
murdering the innocent. You live in a world of
widespread evil. But every time you choose to
do good, you stand on Gods side.
D
day18
GENESIS 36:137:36
Esaus Descendants
36
2Esau
aPsalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the
successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm. b5 See Septuagint;
Hebrew /they are haughty, and your laws are far from
DAY 18
61
support them both because of their live
stock. 8So Esau (that is, Edom) sett led
in the hill country of Seir.
9This is the ac
count of the family line of
Esau the father of the Edomites in the hill
country of Seir.
a16 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (also verse11 and 1Chron. 1:36) does not have Korah.
b22Hebrew Hemam, a variant of Homam (see 1Chron. 1:39) c24 Vulgate; Syriac discovered water; the
meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. d26Hebrew Dishan, a variant of Dishon
DAY 18
62
37
2This
a39 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac (see also 1Chron. 1:50);
most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text Hadar b3 Themeaning of the Hebrew for this word is
63
life, he said. 22Dont shed any blood. Throw
him into this cistern here in the wilderness,
but dont lay a hand on him. Reuben said this
to rescue him from them and take him back
to his father.
23So when Jo
seph came to his brothers,
they stripped him of his robethe ornate
robe he was wearing24and they took him
and threw him into the cistern. The cistern
was empt y; there was no water init.
25As they sat down to eat t heir meal, they
looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites
coming from Gilead. Their camels were load
ed with spices, balm and myrrh, and they were
on their way to take them down to Egypt.
26Judah said to his brothers, What will we
gain if we kill our brother and cover up his
blood? 27Come, lets sell him to the Ishmael
ites and not lay our h
ands on him; after all, he
is our brother, our own f lesh and blood. His
brothers agreed.
28So when the Midia nite merc hants came
by, his brothers pulled Joseph up out of the
cistern and sold him for twenty shekelsa of
silver to the Ishmaelites, who took him to
Egypt.
29When Reu
ben returned to the cistern
and saw that Joseph was not there, he tore his
c lothes. 30He went back to his brothers and
said, The boy isnt t here! W here can I turn
now?
31Then they got Jo
s ephs robe, slaugh
tered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood.
32They took the ornate robe back to t heir fa
ther and said, We found this. Examine it to
see whether it is your sons robe.
33He recogn ized it and said, It is my sons
robe! Some feroc ious animal has devoured
him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.
34Then Jacob tore his c lothes, put on sack
cloth and mourned for his son many days.
35All his sons and daughters came to comfort
him, but he ref used to be comforted. No, he
said, I will continue to mourn until I join my
son in the g rave. So his father wept for him.
36Meanwhile, the Midia nites b sold Joseph
in Egypt to Potiphar, one of Pharaohs off i
cials, the captain of the guard.
DAY 18
MATTHEW 13:1813:35
18Lis
ten then to what the parable of the
sower means: 19When anyone hears the mes
sage a bout the kingdom and does not under
stand it, the evil one comes and snatches away
what was sown in their heart. This is the seed
sown a long the path. 20The seed falling on
rocky ground refers to someone who hears the
word and at once receives it with joy. 21But
since they have no root, they last only a short
time. When trouble or pers ec ut ion comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away.
22The seed falling a mong the t horns refers to
someone who hears the word, but the worries
of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth
choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23But
the seed falling on good soil refers to some
one who hears the word and understands it.
This is the one who produces a crop, yield
ing a hundred, sixt y or thirt y times what was
sown.
a28 That is, about 8ounces or about 230 grams b36 Samaritan Pentateuch, Septuagint, Vulgate and
DAY 19
64
REWIND
Genesis 3637; Matthew 13:1835;
Psalm 10:1218
PSALM 10:1210:18
12 Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, OGod.
Do not forget the helpless.
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
He wont call me to account?
14 But you, God, see the trouble of the
afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in
hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his
wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the
afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to
their cry,
18 defending the fatherless and the
oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
day19
GENESIS 38:139:23
Judah and Tamar
38
65
as a brother-in-law to raise up offspring for
your brother. 9But Onan knew that the child
would not be his; so whenever he slept with
his brothers wife, he spilled his semen on the
g round to keep from prov iding offspring for
his brother. 10What he did was wicked in the
Lords sight; so the Lord put him to death
also.
11Ju
dah then said to his daughter-in-law
Tamar, Live as a widow in your fathers
household until my son Shelah g rows up.
For he thought, He may die too, just like his
brothers. So Tamar went to live in her fathers
household.
12After a long time Judahs wife, the daugh
ter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered
from his g rief, he went up to Timnah, to the
men who were shearing his sheep, and his
friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.
13When Ta
mar was told, Your fatherin-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his
sheep, 14she took off her widows c lothes,
covered herself with a veil to disg uise herself,
and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim,
which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw
that, though Shelah had now g rown up, she
had not been given to him as his wife.
15When Ju
d ah saw her, he thought she
was a prostit ute, for she had covered her face.
16Not rea lizing that she was his daughter-inlaw, he went over to her by the roadside and
said, Come now, let me sleep with you.
And what will you give me to sleep with
you? she asked.
17Ill send you a
young goat from my
f lock, he said.
Will you give me something as a pledge
until you send it? she asked.
18He said, What
pledge should I give
you?
Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your
hand, she answered. So he gave them to her
and slept with her, and she became pregnant
by him. 19After she left, she took off her veil
and put on her widows clothes again.
20Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by
his friend the Adullamite in order to get his
pledge back from the woman, but he did not
find her. 21He asked the men who lived there,
DAY 19
39
a29 Perez means breaking out. b30 Zerah can mean scarlet or brightness.
DAY 19
66
MATTHEW 13:3613:58
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36Then
DAY 19
67
The Parable of the Net
47Once
PSALM 11:111:7
Psalm 11
For the director of music. OfDavid.
REWIND
Genesis 3839; Matthew 13:3658;
Psalm 11
DAY 20
68
day20
GENESIS 40:141:40
40
41
69
gypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no
E
one could interpret them for him.
9Then the c hief cupbearer said to Pharaoh,
Today I am reminded of my shortcomings.
10Pharaoh was once ang ry with his serv ants,
and he imprisoned me and the chief baker in
the house of the captain of the g uard. 11Each
of us had a d
ream the same n
ight, and each
d ream had a meaning of its own. 12Now a
young Hebrew was there with us, a servant
of the captain of the g uard. We told him our
d reams, and he interpreted them for us, giv
ing each man the interpretation of his dream.
13And t hings t urned out exactly as he inter
preted them to us: I was restored to my posi
tion, and the other man was impaled.
14So Pharaoh sent for Joseph, and he was
quickly brought from the dungeon. When he
had shaved and changed his clothes, he came
before Pharaoh.
15Pharaoh said to Joseph, I had a d ream,
and no one can interpret it. But I have heard
it said of you that when you hear a dream you
can interpretit.
16I cannot do it, Joseph replied to Phar
aoh, but God will give Pharaoh the ans wer
he desires.
17Then Phar
aoh said to Joseph, In my
dream I was standing on the bank of the Nile,
18when out of the river t here came up seven
cows, fat and sleek, and they g razed a mong
the reeds. 19After them, seven other cows
came upscrawny and very ugly and lean. I
had never seen such ugly cows in all the land
of Egypt. 20The lean, ugly cows ate up the
seven fat cows that came up f irst. 21But even
after they ate them, no one could tell that they
had done so; they l ooked just as ugly as before.
Then I wokeup.
22In my d ream I saw seven h
eads of grain,
full and good, growing on a single s talk. 23Af
ter them, seven other heads sprouted w ith
ered and thin and scorched by the east wind.
24The thin heads of g rain swallowed up the
seven good heads. I told this to the magicians,
but none of them could explain it tome.
25Then Jo
s eph said to Phar
a oh, The
dreams of Pharaoh are one and the same. God
has revealed to Pharaoh what he is about to
a38Orof the gods
DAY 20
MATTHEW 14:114:21
John the Baptist Beheaded
14
DAY 20
70
PROVERBS 2:122:22
12 Wisdom will save you from the ways of
wicked men,
from men whose words are perverse,
13 who have left the straight paths
to walk in dark ways,
14 who delight in doing wrong
and rejoice in the perverseness of evil,
15 whose paths are crooked
and who are devious in their ways.
16 Wisdom will save you also from the
adulterous woman,
from the wayward woman with her
seductive words,
17 who has left the partner of her youth
and ignored the covenant she made
before God.a
18 Surely her house leads down to death
and her paths to the spirits of the
dead.
19 None who go to her return
or attain the paths of life.
20 Thus you will walk in the ways of the
good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land,
and the blameless will remain in it;
22 but the wicked will be cut off from the
land,
and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
REWIND
Genesis 40:141:40;
Matthew 14:121; Proverbs 2:1222
DAY 21
71
when you need it. Gods wisdom saves you
from wicked people. His insights help you find
the path to life.
D
day21
GENESIS 41:4142:38
Joseph in Charge of Egypt
41So
42
a43Orin the chariot of his second-in-command; or in his second chariot b43OrBow down c45 That is,
Heliopolis; also in verse50 d51 Manasseh sounds like and may be derived from the Hebrew for forget.
e52 Ephraim sounds like the Hebrew for twice fruitful.
DAY 21
72
DAY 21
73
him back to you. Entrust him to my care, and
I will bring him back.
38But Jacob said, My son will not go down
t here with you; his brother is dead and he is
the only one left. If harm comes to him on the
journey you are taking, you will bring my gray
head down to the g rave in sorrow.
MATTHEW 14:2215:9
Jesus Walks on the Water
22Imm ed iatel y
15
PSALM 12:112:8
Psalm 12d
For the director of music. According to
sheminith.e Apsalm ofDavid.
a4Exodus20:12; Deut. 5:16 b4Exodus21:17; Lev. 20:9 c9Isaiah29:13 dIn Hebrew texts
12:1-8 is numbered 12:2-9. eTitle: Probably a musical term
DAY 22
I will now arise, says the Lord.
I will protect them from those who
malign them.
6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like golda refined seven times.
7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the
wicked,
8 who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the
human race.
REWIND
Genesis 41:4142:38;
Matthew 14:2215:9; Psalm 12
day22
GENESIS 43:144:34
43
74
ther said to them, Go back and buy us a litt le
more food.
3But Judah said to him, The man warned
us solemnly, You will not see my face again
unless your brother is with you. 4If you will
send our brother a long with us, we will go
down and buy food for you. 5But if you will
not send him, we will not go down, because
the man said to us, You will not see my face
again unless your brother is with you.
6Is
r ael asked, Why did you b
ring this
trouble on me by telling the man you had an
other brother?
7They re
plied, The man questioned us
closely a bout ourselves and our family. Is your
father s till living? he asked us. Do you have
another brother? We simply ans wered his
questions. How were we to know he w
ould
say, Bring your brother down here?
8Then Judah said to Israel his fat her, Send
the boy a long with me and we will go at once,
so that we and you and our children may live
and not die. 9I myself will guarantee his safe
ty; you can hold me persona lly responsible for
him. If I do not bring him back to you and
set him here before you, I will bear the blame
before you all my life. 10As it is, if we had not
delayed, we could have gone and returned
twice.
11Then
t heir father Israel said to them,
If it must be, then do this: Put some of the
best products of the land in your bags and
take them down to the man as a gifta lit
tle balm and a little honey, some spices and
myrrh, some pistachio nuts and almonds.
12Take double the a mount of silver with you,
for you must return the silver that was put
back into the mouths of your sacks. Perhaps
it was a mistake. 13Take your brother also and
go back to the man at once. 14And may God
Almightyb grant you merc y before the man so
that he will let your other brother and Benja
min come back with you. As for me, if I am
bereaved, I am bereaved.
15So the men took the g ifts and double the
a mount of silver, and Benjam in also. They
hurr ied down to Egypt and presented them
selves to Joseph. 16When Joseph saw Benja
min with them, he said to the stewa rd of his
a6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text earth b14Hebrew El-Shaddai
75
ouse, Take these men to my house, slaugh
h
ter an animal and prepare a meal; they are to
eat with me at noon.
17The man did as Joseph told him and took
the men to Josephs house. 18Now the men
were frightened when they were taken to his
house. They thought, We were brought here
because of the silver that was put back into our
sacks the f irst time. He wants to attack us and
overpower us and s eize us as s laves and take
our donkeys.
19So they went up to Josephs stewa rd and
spoke to him at the entrance to the house.
20We beg your pardon, our lord, they said,
we came down here the first time to buy
food. 21But at the place where we s topped for
the night we opened our sacks and each of us
found his silverthe exact weightin the
mouth of his sack. So we have brought it back
with us. 22We have also brought add it iona l
silver with us to buy food. We dont know who
put our silver in our sacks.
23Its all r ight, he said. Dont be a fraid.
Your God, the God of your father, has giv
en you treasure in your s acks; I received your
silver. Then he brought Simeon out to them.
24The stewa rd took the men into Josephs
house, gave them water to wash their feet and
prov ided fodder for t heir donk eys. 25They
prepared t heir g ifts for Jos ephs ar r iva l at
noon, because they had heard that they were
to eat there.
26When Joseph came home, they present
ed to him the gifts they had brought into the
house, and they bowed down before him to
the ground. 27He a sked them how they were,
and then he said, How is your aged father
you told me about? Is he still living?
28They replied, Your servant our fat her is
still a live and well. And they bowed down,
prostrating themselves before him.
29As he looked about and saw his brother
Benjamin, his own mothers son, he asked, Is
this your youngest brother, the one you told
me a bout? And he said, God be gracious to
you, my son. 30Deeply moved at the sight of
his brother, Joseph hurried out and looked for
a place to weep. He went into his private room
and wept there.
31After he had washed his face, he came out
and, controlling himself, said, Serve the food.
DAY 22
32They s
erved him by himself, the broth
ers by themselves, and the Egyptians who ate
with him by themselves, because Egyptians
could not eat with Hebrews, for that is detest
able to Egyptians. 33The men had been seat
ed before him in the order of their ages, from
the firstborn to the youngest; and they looked
at each other in astonishment. 34When por
tions were s erved to them from Josephs table,
Benjamins portion was five times as much as
anyone elses. So they feasted and drank freely
with him.
44
DAY 22
76
MATTHEW 15:1015:39
10Jesus c alled the c rowd to him and said,
Listen and understand. 11What goes into
someones mouth does not defile them, but
what comes out of their mouth, that is what
def iles them.
12Then the dis
c iples came to him and
asked, Do you know that the Pharisees were
offended when they heard this?
13He re
plied, Every plant that my heav
enly Father has not planted will be p
ulled
up by the roots. 14Leave them; they are blind
g uides. a If the blind lead the blind, both will
fall into a pit.
15Peter said, Explain the parable tous.
16Are you still so dull? Jesus a
sked them.
17Dont you see that what
e ver enters the
mouth goes into the stomach and then out
of the body? 18But the things that come out
of a persons m
outh come from the heart,
and these def ile them. 19For out of the heart
come evil thoughts murder, adultery, sexu
al immoralit y, theft, false testimony, slander.
20These are what def ile a person; but eating
with unwashed hands does not def ile them.
DAY 22
77
My daughter is demon-possessed and suffer
ing terribly.
23Jesus did not ans wer a word. So his dis
ciples came to him and urged him, Send her
away, for she keeps crying out afterus.
24He ans wered, I was sent only to the lost
sheep of Israel.
25The woma n came and k
nelt before him.
Lord, help me! she said.
26He re
plied, It is not right to take the
childrens bread and toss it to the dogs.
27Yes it is, Lord, she said. Even the dogs
eat the c rumbs that fall from their masters
table.
28Then
Jesus said to her, Woma n, you
have great faith! Your request is granted. And
her daughter was healed at that moment.
Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand
29Jesus left t here and went a long the Sea of
Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside
and sat down. 30Great c rowds came to him,
bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the
mute and many others, and laid them at his
feet; and he healed them. 31The people were
a mazed when they saw the mute speaking,
the crippled made well, the lame walking and
the blind seeing. And they praised the God
of Israel.
32Jesus called his disc iples to him and said,
I have compassion for these people; they
have already been with me three days and
have nothing to eat. I do not want to send
them away hung ry, or they may collapse on
the way.
33His disc iples ans wered, Where could we
get enough b
read in this remote place to feed
such a crowd?
34How many
loaves do you have? Jesus
asked.
Seven, they replied, and a few small
fish.
35He told the c
rowd to sit down on the
ground. 36Then he took the seven loaves and
the fish, and when he had given thanks, he
broke them and gave them to the disc iples,
and they in turn to the people. 37They all
ate and were satisfied. Afterw ard the dis
ciples picked up seven basket f uls of broken
PSALM 13:113:6
Psalm 13a
For the director of music. Apsalm ofDavid.
1 How
REWIND
Genesis 4344; Matthew 15:1039;
Psalm 13
DAY 23
78
day23
GENESIS 45:147:12
45
a7Orsave you as a great band of survivors b22 That is, about 71/2 pounds or about 3.5 kilograms
79
vived. 28And Israel said, Im conv inced! My
son Joseph is still a live. I will go and see him
before I die.
Jacob Goes to Egypt
46
DAY 23
a13 Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac (see also 1Chron. 7:1); Masoretic Text Puvah b13Samaritan
Pentateuch and some Septuagint manuscripts (see also Num. 26:24 and 1Chron. 7:1); Masoretic Text Iob
c15 That is, Northwest Mesopotamia d16 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Num. 26:15);
Masoretic Text Ziphion e20That is, Heliopolis f27 Hebrew; Septuagint the nine children
g27 Hebrew (see also Exodus 1:5 and note); Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14) seventy-five
DAY 23
80
47
MATTHEW 16:116:20
The Demand for a Sign
16
a29Hebrew around him b7Orgreeted c10Orsaid farewell to d2,3 Some early manuscripts do
DAY 23
81
many basketf uls you gathered? 11How is it you
dont understand that I was not talking to you
about bread? But be on your g uard against the
yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. 12Then
they understood that he was not telling them
to g uard against the y east used in bread, but
against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sad
ducees.
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
13When Jesus came to the reg ion of Caesa
rea Philippi, he asked his disciples, Who do
people say the Son of Manis?
14They replied, Some say John the Bapt ist;
others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or
one of the prophets.
15But what
about you? he asked. Who
do you say Iam?
16Simon Peter ans wered, You are the Mes
siah, the Son of the living God.
17Jesus re
plied, Blessed are you, Simon
son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you
by f lesh and blood, but by my Father in heav
en. 18And I tell you that you are Peter,a and
on this rock I will b
uild my c hurch, and the
gates of Hades b will not overcome it. 19I will
give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
whatever you bind on earth will bec bound in
heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will
bec loosed in heaven. 20Then he ordered his
disc iples not to tell anyone that he was the
Messiah.
PSALM 14:114:7
Psalm 14
For the director of music.
OfDavid.
REWIND
Genesis 45:147:12;
Matthew 16:120; Psalm 14
DAY 24
82
day24
GENESIS 47:1348:22
Joseph and the Famine
13There was no food, however, in the w
hole
reg ion because the famine was severe; both
Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of
the famine. 14Joseph col lected all the money
that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in
payment for the g rain they were buying, and
he brought it to Pharaohs palace. 15When the
mone y of the people of E
gypt and Canaan
was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said,
Give us food. Why should we die before your
eyes? Our money is all gone.
16Then b
ring your livestock, said Joseph.
I will sell you food in exchange for your live
stock, since your money is gone. 17So they
brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave
them food in exchange for their horses, their
sheep and goats, their cattle and donk eys.
And he brought them through that year with
food in exchange for all their livestock.
18When that year was over, they came to
him the following year and said, We can
not hide from our lord the fact that since
our money is gone and our livestock belongs
to you, there is nothing left for our lord ex
cept our bodies and our land. 19Why should
we perish before your eyeswe and our land
as well? Buy us and our land in exchange for
food, and we with our land will be in bondage
to Pharaoh. Give us seed so that we may live
and not die, and that the land may not become
desolate.
20So Jos eph bought all the land in E
gypt
for Pharaoh. The Egyptians, one and all, sold
their f ields, because the famine was too severe
for them. The land became Pharaohs, 21and
Joseph reduced the people to serv it ude, a from
one end of Egypt to the other. 22However, he
did not buy the land of the priests, because
they received a regu lar allotment from Phar
aoh and had food enough from the allotment
48
a21 Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint (see also Vulgate); Masoretic Text and he moved the people into
the cities b31OrIsrael bowed down at the head of his bed c3Hebrew El-Shaddai
DAY 24
83
your numbers. I will make you a commun i
ty of peoples, and I will give this land as an
everlasting possession to your descendants af
ter you.
5Now then, your two sons born to you in
Egypt before I came to you here will be reck
oned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be
mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
6Any chil
d ren born to you after them will
be yours; in the territor y they inherit they will
be reckoned under the names of their broth
ers. 7As I was ret urning from Paddan,a to my
sorrow Rac hel died in the land of Canaan
while we were s till on the way, a litt le distance
from Ephrath. So I buried her there beside the
road to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem).
8When Is
rael saw the sons of Joseph, he
asked, Who are these?
9They are the sons God has giv
en me
here, Joseph said to his father.
Then Israel said, Bring them to me so I
may bless them.
10Now Israels eyes were failing because of
old age, and he could hardly see. So Joseph
brought his sons c lose to him, and his father
k issed them and embraced them.
11Israel said to Joseph, I never expected to
see your face again, and now God has allowed
me to see your children too.
12Then Jo
seph removed them from Isra
els k nees and b
owed down with his face to
the g round.13And Joseph took both of them,
Ephraim on his right toward Israels left hand
and Manasseh on his left toward Israels right
hand, and brought them c lose to him. 14But
Israel reached out his right hand and put it on
Ephraims head, t hough he was the younger,
and crossing his arms, he put his left hand on
Manassehs head, even though Manasseh was
the firstborn.
15Then he blessed Joseph and said,
May the God before whom my fathers
Abraham and Isaac walked faithfully,
the God who has been my shepherd
all my life to this day,
16 the Angel who has delivered me from all
harm
may he bless these boys.
MATTHEW 16:2117:13
Jesus Predicts His Death
21From
DAY 24
84
17
PROVERBS 3:13:10
Wisdom Bestows Well-Being
REWIND
Genesis 47:1348:22;
Matthew 16:2117:13;
Proverbs 3:110
a25 TheGreek word means either life or soul; also in verse26. b6Orwill direct your paths
85
your own insights. When you trust yourself to
his will, he makes your paths straight.
D
day25
GENESIS 49:150:26
Jacob Blesses His Sons
DAY 25
49
your brothers will praise you;
your hand will be on the neck of your
enemies;
your fathers sons will bow down to you.
a5 Themeaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain. b8 Judah sounds like and may be derived
from the Hebrew for praise. c10Orfrom his descendants d10Orto whom tribute belongs; the meaning
of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. e12Orwill be dull from wine, / his teeth white from milk
f14Orstrong g14Orthe campfires; or the saddlebags h16 Dan here means he provides justice.
i19 Gad sounds like the Hebrew for attack and also for band of raiders. j21Orfree; / he utters
beautiful words k22OrJoseph is a wild colt, / a wild colt near a spring, / a wild donkey on a terraced hill
DAY 25
86
50
a23,24Orarchers will attack... will shoot... will remain... will stay b25Hebrew Shaddai c26Orof
my progenitors, / as great as d26Orof the one separated from e32Orthe descendants of Heth
f9Orcharioteers g11 Abel Mizraim means mourning of the Egyptians.
87
Joseph Reassures His Brothers
15When
DAY 25
MATTHEW 17:1418:9
24Af
ter Jesus and his disc iples arrived in
Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drach
ma temple tax came to Peter and asked,
Doesnt your teacher pay the temple tax?
25Yes, he does, he replied.
When Peter came into the house, Jesus was
the f irst to speak. What do you think, Si
mon? he asked. From whom do the k ings of
the earth collect duty and taxesfrom their
own children or from others?
26From others, Peter ans wered.
Then the children are exempt, J esus said
to him. 27But so that we may not c ause of
fense, go to the lake and throw out your line.
Take the f irst fish you catch; open its mouth
and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take
it and give it to them for my tax and yours.
14When
18
a23 That is, were counted as his b21 Some manuscripts include here words similar to Mark9:29.
DAY 26
88
Causing to Stumble
6If
any
one caus
e s one of these lit
t le
onesthose who believe in meto stum
ble, it would be better for them to have a large
millstone hung a round their neck and to be
drowned in the d
epths of the sea. 7Woe to the
world because of the things that cause people
to stumble! Such things must come, but woe
to the person through whom they come! 8If
your hand or your foot causes you to stum
ble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better
for you to enter life m
aimed or crippled than
to have two hands or two feet and be thrown
into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you
to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It
is better for you to enter life with one eye than
to have two eyes and be t hrown into the fire
of hell.
REWIND
BE BLAMELESS.
Jacob unleashes harsh words in Genesis 4950,
making a last blessing of his sons into a diary
of their sins and the consequences that will befall them. Jesus speaks blunt truth in Matthew
1718, saying its better to be thrown into the
sea with a large millstone around your neck
than to trip people up. Aim to be the person
David describes in Psalm 15, someone who
walks with God consistently. That person wont
be shaken.
D
PSALM 15:115:5
Psalm 15
A psalm ofDavid.
day26
EXODUS 1:13:22
a5 Masoretic Text (see also Gen. 46:27); Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint (see also Acts 7:14 and note at
89
that generation died, 7but the Israel ites were
exceed ingly fruit f ul; they mult iplied great ly,
increased in numbers and became so numer
ous that the land was f illed with them.
8Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant
nothing, came to power in E
gypt. 9Look, he
said to his people, the Israelites have become
far too numerous for us. 10Come, we must
deal shrewdly with them or they will become
even more numerous and, if war b
reaks out,
will join our enem ies, fight a gainst us and
leave the country.
11So they put
slave masters over them to
oppress them with forced labor, and they built
Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Phar
aoh. 12But the more they were oppressed, the
more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyp
tians came to dread the Israelites 13and worked
them ruthlessly. 14They made their lives bitter
with h
arsh labor in brick and mortar and with
all k inds of work in the f ields; in all their harsh
labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly.
15The king of
Egypt said to the Hebrew
midw ives, whose names were Shiphrah and
Puah, 16When you are helping the Hebrew
women during childbirth on the delivery stool,
if you see that the baby is a boy, kill him; but if
it is a girl, let her live. 17The midw ives, how
ever, f eared God and did not do what the king
of Egypt had told them to do; they let the boys
live. 18Then the king of Egypt summoned the
midw ives and asked them, Why have you
done this? Why have you let the boys live?
19The midw ives ans wered Pharaoh, He
brew women are not like Egyptian women;
they are vigorous and give b
irth before the
midw ives arrive.
20So God was kind to the midw ives and the
people inc reased and became even more nu
merous. 21And because the midw ives feared
God, he gave them families of their own.
22Then Phar
aoh gave this order to all his
people: Every Hebrew boy that is born you
must t hrow into the Nile, but let every girl live.
The Birth of Moses
DAY 26
a3 TheHebrew can also mean ark, as in Gen.6:14. b10 Moses sounds like the Hebrew for draw out.
DAY 26
90
17Some
a22 Gershom sounds like the Hebrew for a foreigner there. b6 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch (see
Acts 7:32) fathers c12TheHebrew is plural. d14OrI will be what I will be e15TheHebrew
for Lord sounds like and may be related to the Hebrew for I am in verse14.
DAY 26
91
18The el
ders of Israel will listen to you.
Then you and the elders are to go to the king
of Egypt and say to him, The Lord, the God
of the Hebrews, has met with us. Let us take
a three-day journey into the wilderness to of
fer sacr if ices to the Lord our God. 19But I
know that the king of E
gypt will not let you
go unless a mighty hand compels him. 20So I
will stretch out my hand and strike the Egyp
tians with all the wonders that I will perform
among them. After that, he will let yougo.
21And I will make the Egypt ians favorably
disposed toward this people, so that when you
leave you will not go empt y-handed. 22Every
woman is to ask her neighbor and any wom
an living in her house for articles of silver and
gold and for clothing, which you will put on
your sons and daughters. And so you will
plunder the Egyptians.
MATTHEW 18:1018:35
The Parable of the Wandering Sheep
10See that you do not despise one of t hese
litt le ones. For I tell you that t heir angels in
heaven always see the face of my Father in
heaven. [11]a
12What do you
t hink? If a man owns a
hund red sheep, and one of them wanders
away, will he not leave the ninet y-nine on the
hills and go to look for the one that wandered
off? 13And if he f inds it, truly I tell you, he is
happier about that one s heep than about the
ninet y-nine that did not wander off. 14In the
same way your Father in heaven is not willing
that any of these litt le ones should perish.
a11 Some manuscripts include here the words of Luke19:10. b15 The Greek word for brother or sister
(adelphos) refers here to a fellow disciple, whether man or woman; also in verses 21 and 35. c15Some
manuscripts sins against you d16Deut.19:15 e18 Orwill have been f22Orseventy times seven
g24Greekten thousand talents; a talent was worth about 20years of a day laborers wages. h28Greeka
hundred denarii; a denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer (see 20:2).
DAY 27
92
PSALM 16:116:11
Psalm 16
A miktama ofDavid.
REWIND
Exodus 13; Matthew 18:1035;
Psalm 16
day27
EXODUS 4:16:12
Signs for Moses
93
take it by the tail. So Moses reached out and
took hold of the snake and it t urned back into
a staff in his hand. 5This, said the Lord, is
so that they may believe that the Lord, the
God of their fathersthe God of Abraham,
the God of Isaac and the God of Jacobhas
appeared to you.
6Then the Lord said, Put your hand in
side your c loak. So Moses put his hand into
his c loak, and when he took it out, the skin
was leprous ait had become as white as
snow.
7Now put it back into your c loak, he said.
So Moses put his hand back into his c loak,
and when he took it out, it was restored, like
the rest of his flesh.
8Then the Lord said, If they do not be
lieve you or pay attention to the f irst sign, they
may believe the second. 9But if they do not
believe t hese two s igns or listen to you, take
some water from the Nile and pour it on the
dry g round. The water you take from the river
will become blood on the ground.
10Mo
ses said to the Lord, Pardon your
serv ant, Lord. I have never been eloquent,
neither in the past nor since you have spo
ken to your servant. I am slow of speech and
tongue.
11The Lord said to him, Who gave hu
man beings their mouths? Who makes them
deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes
them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? 12Now go;
I will help you speak and will teach you what
to say.
13But Mo
ses said, Pardon your serv ant,
Lord. Please send someone else.
14Then the Lords ang er burned a gainst
Moses and he said, What about your brother,
Aaron the Lev ite? I know he can s peak well.
He is already on his way to meet you, and he
will be glad to see you. 15You shall s peak to
him and put words in his mouth; I will help
both of you speak and will teach you what to
do. 16He will s peak to the people for you, and
it will be as if he were your mouth and as if
you were God to him. 17But take this staff
in your hand so you can perform the signs
withit.
DAY 27
a6 TheHebrew word for leprous was used for various diseases affecting the skin. b24Hebrew him
c25 The meaning of the Hebrew for this clause is uncertain.
DAY 27
94
DAY 27
95
they did not listen to him because of their dis
couragement and harsh labor.
10Then the Lord said to Moses, 11Go, tell
Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the Israelites go
out of his country.
12But Moses said to the Lord, If the Isra
elites will not listen to me, why would Phar
aoh listen to me, since I s peak with faltering
lipsa?
MATTHEW 19:119:15
Divorce
PSALM 17:117:5
19
Psalm 17
A prayer ofDavid.
1 Hear
me, Lord, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer
it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2 Let my vindication come from you;
may your eyes see what is right.
3 Though you probe my heart,
though you examine me at night and
test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
my mouth has not transgressed.
4 Though people tried to bribe me,
I have kept myself from the ways of the
violent
through what your lips have
commanded.
5 My steps have held to your paths;
my feet have not stumbled.
REWIND
Exodus 4:16:12; Matthew 19:115;
Psalm 17:15
DAY 28
96
day28
EXODUS 6:138:32
a14 TheHebrew for families here and in verse25 refers to units larger than clans.
DAY 28
97
Aarons Staff Becomesa Snake
8The
a19Oreven on their idols bIn Hebrew texts 8:1-4 is numbered 7:26-29, and 8:5-32 is numbered 8:1-28.
DAY 28
98
MATTHEW 19:1619:30
The Rich and the Kingdom of God
16Just then a man came up to
Jesus and
a sked, Teacher, what good thing must I do
to get eternal life?
17Why do you ask me about what is good?
Jesus replied. There is only One who is good.
If you want to enter life, keep the command
ments.
18Which ones? he inquired.
Jesus replied, You shall not murder, you
shall not commit adultery, you shall not s teal,
you shall not give false test imony, 19hon
or your father and mother,b and love your
neighbor as yourself. c
a23 Septuagint and Vulgate; Hebrew will put a deliverance b19Exodus20:12-16; Deut.5:16-20
c19Lev.19:18
DAY 28
99
20All
t hese I have kept, the young man
said. What do I still lack?
21Jesus an
s wered, If you want to be per
fect, go, sell your possessions and give to the
poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.
Then come, followme.
22When the young man heard this, he went
away sad, because he had great wealth.
23Then J esus said to his disc iples, Truly I
tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to
enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell
you, it is easier for a camel to go through the
eye of a need le than for someone who is rich to
enter the kingdom of God.
25When the disc iples heard this, they were
greatly astonished and asked, Who then can
be saved?
26Jesus l ooked at them and said, With man
this is impossible, but with God all things are
possible.
27Peter ans wered him, We have left every
thing to follow you! What then will there be
forus?
28Jesus said to them, Truly I tell you, at the
renewa l of all things, when the Son of Man
sits on his glorious throne, you who have fol
lowed me will also sit on t welve thrones, judg
ing the t welve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone
who has left houses or brothers or sisters or
father or mother or wifea or children or f ields
for my sake will receive a hund red times as
much and will inherit eternal life. 30But many
who are f irst will be last, and many who are
last will be first.
REWIND
Exodus 6:138:32;
Matthew 19:1630; Proverbs 3:1120
PROVERBS 3:113:20
11 My son, do not despise the Lords
discipline,
and do not resent his rebuke,
12 because the Lord disciplines those he
loves,
as a father the son he delights in.b
13 Blessed are those who find wisdom,
those who gain understanding,
14 for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than
gold.
a29 Some manuscripts do not have or wife. b12 Hebrew; Septuagint loves,/ and he chastens everyone he
DAY 29
100
day29
EXODUS 9:110:29
The Plague on Livestock
101
Aaron. This time I have sinned, he said to
them. The Lord is in the right, and I and my
people are in the w
rong. 28Pray to the Lord,
for we have had enough thunder and hail. I will
let you go; you dont have to stay any longer.
29Moses replied, When I have gone out of
the city, I will s pread out my h
ands in prayer
to the Lord. The thunder will stop and there
will be no more hail, so you may know that
the earth is the Lords. 30But I know that you
and your off icials still do not fear the Lord
God.
31(The f lax and bar
ley were destroyed,
since the barley had headed and the flax was
in bloom. 32The wheat and spelt, howe ver,
were not destroyed, because they ripen later.)
33Then Mos es left Pharaoh and went out
of the city. He spread out his hands toward
the Lord; the thunder and hail stopped, and
the rain no longer poured down on the land.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and hail
and thunder had stopped, he sinned again: He
and his off icials hardened t heir hearts. 35So
Pharaohs heart was hard and he would not
let the Israelites go, just as the Lord had said
through Moses.
The Plague of Locusts
10
DAY 29
DAY 29
102
18Mo
ses then left Pharaoh and prayed to
the Lord. 19And the Lord changed the wind
to a very s trong west wind, which c aught up
the loc usts and carried them into the Red
Sea.a Not a locust was left anywhere in Egypt.
20But the Lord hardened Pharaohs heart,
and he would not let the Israelitesgo.
MATTHEW 20:120:19
The Parable of the Workers
intheVineyard
20
a19 Or the Sea of Reeds b2 A denarius was the usual daily wage of a day laborer.
103
PSALM 17:617:12
6 I call on you, my God, for you will
answer me;
turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
7 Show me the wonders of your great love,
you who save by your right hand
those who take refuge in you from their
foes.
8 Keep me as the apple of your eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings
9 from the wicked who are out to
destroy me,
from my mortal enemies who
surround me.
10 They close up their callous hearts,
and their mouths speak with arrogance.
11 They have tracked me down, they now
surround me,
with eyes alert, to throw me to the
ground.
12 They are like a lion hungry for prey,
like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
REWIND
Exodus 910; Matthew 20:119;
Psalm 17:612
DAY 30
day30
EXODUS 11:112:51
11
12
DAY 30
104
105
The Exodus
31Dur i ng
DAY 30
MATTHEW 20:2020:34
A Mothers Request
20Then the mother of Zebedees sons came
to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down,
asked a favor of him.
21What is it you want? he asked.
She said, Grant that one of these two sons
of mine may sit at your right and the other at
your left in your kingdom.
22You
dont know what you are asking,
Jesus said to them. Can you d rink the cup I
am going to drink?
We can, they answered.
23Jesus said to them, You will in
deed
d rink from my cup, but to sit at my r ight or
left is not for me to grant. These places belong
to t hose for whom they have been prepared by
my Father.
24When the ten
heard about this, they
were indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus
called them together and said, You know that
the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,
and their high off icials exercise authorit y over
them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoe ver
wants to become g reat a mong you must be
your servant, 27and whoever wants to be f irst
must be your slave28just as the Son of Man
did not come to be served, but to serve, and to
give his life as a ransom for many.
a40 Masoretic Text; Samaritan Pentateuch and Septuagint Egypt and Canaan
DAY 31
106
PSALM 17:1317:15
13 Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them
down;
with your sword rescue me from the
wicked.
14 By your hand save me from such people,
Lord,
from those of this world whose reward
is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the
wicked fill their bellies;
may their children gorge themselves
on it,
and may there be leftovers for their little
ones.
day31
EXODUS 13:114:31
13