Bible Readings for February 5, 2015

Today our passages are Exodus 21:22–23:13; Matthew 24:1-28; Psalm 29:1-11; and Proverbs 7:6-23. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

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Exodus 21:22-23:13 (Contemporary English Version)

²²Suppose a pregnant woman suffers a miscarriage ^[a] as the result of an injury caused by someone who is fighting. If she isn't badly hurt, the one who injured her must pay whatever fine her husband demands and the judges approve. ²³But if she is seriously injured, the payment will be life for life, ²⁴eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, ²⁵burn for burn, cut for cut, and bruise for bruise. ²⁶If you hit one of your slaves and cause the loss of an eye, the slave must be set free. ²⁷The same law applies if you knock out a slave's tooth--the slave goes free.
²⁸A bull that kills someone with its horns must be killed and its meat destroyed, but the owner of the bull isn't responsible for the death.
²⁹Suppose you own a bull that has been in the habit of attacking people, but you have refused to keep it fenced in. If that bull kills someone, both you and the bull must be put to death by stoning. ³⁰However, you may save your own life by paying whatever fine is demanded. ³¹This same law applies if the bull gores someone's son or daughter. ³²If the bull kills a slave, you must pay the slave owner thirty pieces of silver for the loss of the slave, and the bull must be killed by stoning.
³³Suppose someone's ox or donkey is killed by falling into an open pit that you dug or left uncovered on your property. ³⁴You must pay for the dead animal, and it becomes yours.
³⁵If your bull kills someone else's, yours must be sold. Then the money from your bull and the meat from the dead bull must be divided equally between you and the other owner.
³⁶If you refuse to fence in a bull that is known to attack others, you must pay for any animal it kills, but the dead animal will belong to you.

Exodus 22

Property Laws

The LORD said:

¹If you steal an ox and slaughter or sell it, you must replace it with five oxen; if you steal a sheep and slaughter it or sell it, you must replace it with four sheep. ^2-4But if you cannot afford to replace the animals, you must be sold as a slave to pay for what you have stolen. If you steal an ox, donkey, or sheep, and are caught with it still alive, you must pay the owner double. If you happen to kill a burglar who breaks into your home after dark, you are not guilty. But if you kill someone who breaks in during the day, you are guilty of murder.
⁵If you allow any of your animals to stray from your property and graze ^[b] in someone else's field or vineyard, you must repay the damage from the best part of your own harvest of grapes and grain. ⁶If you carelessly let a fire spread from your property to someone else's, you must pay the owner for any crops or fields destroyed by the fire.
⁷Suppose a neighbor asks you to keep some silver or other valuables, and they are stolen from your house. If the thief is caught, the thief must repay double. ⁸But if the thief isn't caught, some judges ^[c] will decide if you are the guilty one. ⁹Suppose two people claim to own the same ox or donkey or sheep or piece of clothing. Then the judges ^[d] must decide the case, and the guilty person will pay the owner double. ¹⁰Suppose a neighbor who is going to be away asks you to keep a donkey or an ox or a sheep or some other animal, and it dies or gets injured or is stolen while no one is looking. ¹¹If you swear with me as your witness that you did not harm the animal, you do not have to replace it. Your word is enough. ¹²But if the animal was stolen while in your care, you must replace it. ¹³If the animal was attacked and killed by a wild animal, and you can show the remains of the dead animal to its owner, you do not have to replace it.
¹⁴Suppose you borrow an animal from a neighbor, and it gets injured or dies while the neighbor isn't around. Then you must replace it. ¹⁵But if something happens to the animal while the owner is present, you do not have to replace it. If you had leased the animal, the money you paid the owner will cover any harm done to it.

Laws for Everyday Life

The LORD said:

¹⁶Suppose a young woman has never been married and isn't engaged. If a man talks her into having sex, he must pay the bride price ^[e] and marry her. ¹⁷But if her father refuses to let her marry the man, the bride price must still be paid. ¹⁸Death is the punishment for witchcraft. ¹⁹Death is the punishment for having sex with an animal.
²⁰Death is the punishment for offering sacrifices to any god except me.
²¹Do not mistreat or abuse foreigners who live among you. Remember, you were foreigners in Egypt.
²²Do not mistreat widows or orphans. ²³If you do, they will beg for my help, and I will come to their rescue. ²⁴In fact, I will get so angry that I will kill your men and make widows of their wives and orphans of their children.
²⁵Don't charge interest when you lend money to any of my people who are in need. ²⁶Before sunset you must return any coat taken as security for a loan, ²⁷because that is the only cover the poor have when they sleep at night. I am a merciful God, and when they call out to me, I will come to help them.
²⁸Don't speak evil of me ^[f] or of the ruler of your people. ²⁹Don't fail to give me the offerings of grain and wine that belong to me. ^[g] Dedicate to me your first-born sons ³⁰and the first-born of your cattle and sheep. Let the animals stay with their mothers for seven days, then on the eighth day give them to me, your God.
³¹You are my chosen people, so don't eat the meat of any of your livestock that was killed by a wild animal. Instead, feed the meat to dogs.

Exodus 23

Equal Justice for All

The LORD said:

¹Don't spread harmful rumors or help a criminal by giving false evidence. ²Always tell the truth in court, even if everyone else is ^[h] dishonest and stands in the way of justice. ³And don't favor the poor, simply because they are poor. ⁴If you find an ox or a donkey that has wandered off, take it back where it belongs, even if the owner is your enemy.
⁵If a donkey is overloaded and falls down, you must do what you can to help, even if it belongs to someone who doesn't like you. ^[i]6Make sure that the poor are given equal justice in court. ⁷Don't bring false charges against anyone or sentence an innocent person to death. I won't forgive you if you do.
⁸Don't accept bribes. Judges are blinded and justice is twisted by bribes.
⁹Don't mistreat foreigners. You were foreigners in Egypt, and you know what it is like.

Laws for the Sabbath

The LORD said:

¹⁰Plant and harvest your crops for six years, ¹¹but let the land rest during the seventh year. The poor are to eat what they want from your fields, vineyards, and olive trees during that year, and when they have all they want from your fields, leave the rest for wild animals. ¹²Work the first six days of the week, but rest and relax on the seventh day. This law is not only for you, but for your oxen, donkeys, and slaves, as well as for any foreigners among you.
¹³Make certain that you obey everything I have said. Don't pray to other gods or even mention their names.
The LORD said:

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 21:22suffers a miscarriage: Or " gives birth before her time."
2. Exodus 22:5graze: Or " eat everything."
3. Exodus 22:8some judges: Or " I."
4. Exodus 22:9the judges: Or " I."
5. Exodus 22:16bride price: It was the custom for a man to pay his wife's family a bride price before the actual wedding ceremony took place.
6. Exodus 22:28me: Or " your judges."
7. Exodus 22:29Don't fail. . . me: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. Exodus 23:2everyone else is: Or " the authorities are."
9. Exodus 23:5you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 5.

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Matthew 24:1-28 (Contemporary English Version)

Matthew 24

The Temple Will Be Destroyed

(Mark 13.1,2; Luke 21.5,6)

¹After Jesus left the temple, his disciples came over and said, "Look at all these buildings!" ²Jesus replied, "Do you see these buildings? They will certainly be torn down! Not one stone will be left in place."

Warning about Trouble

(Mark 13.3-13; Luke 21.7-19)

³Later, as Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him in private and asked, "When will this happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the world?" ⁴Jesus answered:
Don't let anyone fool you. ⁵Many will come and claim to be me. They will say that they are the Messiah, and they will fool many people.
⁶You will soon hear about wars and threats of wars, but don't be afraid. These things will have to happen first, but that isn't the end. ⁷Nations and kingdoms will go to war against each other. People will starve to death, and in some places there will be earthquakes. ⁸But this is just the beginning of troubles.
⁹You will be arrested, punished, and even killed. Because of me, you will be hated by people of all nations. ¹⁰Many will give up and will betray and hate each other. ¹¹Many false prophets will come and fool a lot of people. ¹²Evil will spread and cause many people to stop loving others. ¹³But if you keep on being faithful right to the end, you will be saved. ¹⁴When the good news about the kingdom has been preached all over the world and told to all nations, the end will come.

The Horrible Thing

(Mark 13.14-23; Luke 21.20-24)

¹⁵Someday you will see that "Horrible Thing" in the holy place, just as the prophet Daniel said. Everyone who reads this must try to understand! ¹⁶If you are living in Judea at that time, run to the mountains. ¹⁷If you are on the roof ^[a] of your house, don't go inside to get anything. ¹⁸If you are out in the field, don't go back for your coat. ¹⁹It will be a terrible time for women who are expecting babies or nursing young children. ²⁰And pray that you won't have to escape in winter or on a Sabbath. ^[b]21This will be the worst time of suffering since the beginning of the world, and nothing this terrible will ever happen again. ²²If God doesn't make the time shorter, no one will be left alive. But because of God's chosen ones, he will make the time shorter. ²³Someone may say, "Here is the Messiah!" or "There he is!" But don't believe it. ²⁴False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones. ²⁵But I have warned you ahead of time. ²⁶If you are told that the Messiah is out in the desert, don't go there! And if you are told that he is in some secret place, don't believe it! ²⁷The coming of the Son of Man will be like lightning that can be seen from east to west. ²⁸Where there is a corpse, there will always be buzzards. ^[c]

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 24:17roof: In Palestine the houses usually had a flat roof. Stairs on the outside led up to the roof, which was made of beams and boards covered with packed earth.
2. Matthew 24:20in winter or on a Sabbath: In Palestine the winters are cold and rainy and make travel difficult. The Jewish people were not allowed to travel much more than half a mile on the Sabbath. For these reasons it was hard for them to escape from their enemies in the winter or on a Sabbath.
3. Matthew 24:28Where there is a corpse, there will always be buzzards: This saying may mean that when anything important happens, people soon know about it. Or the saying may mean that whenever something bad happens, curious people gather around and stare. But the word translated "buzzard" also means "eagle" and may refer to the Roman army, which had an eagle as its symbol.

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Psalm 29:1-11 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 29

(A psalm by David.)

The Voice of the LORD in a Storm

¹All of you angels ^[a] in heaven, honor the glory and power of the LORD!
²Honor the wonderful name
of the LORD,
and worship the LORD
most holy and glorious. ^[b]3The voice of the LORD
echoes over the oceans.
The glorious LORD God
thunders
above the roar
of the raging sea,
⁴and his voice is mighty
and marvelous.
⁵The voice of the LORD
destroys the cedar trees;
the LORD shatters cedars
on Mount Lebanon.
⁶God makes Mount Lebanon
skip like a calf
and Mount Hermon
jump like a wild ox.
⁷The voice of the LORD
makes lightning flash
⁸and the desert tremble.
And because of the LORD,
the desert near Kadesh
shivers and shakes.
⁹The voice of the LORD
makes deer give birth
before their time. ^[c] Forests are stripped of leaves,
and the temple is filled
with shouts of praise.
¹⁰The LORD rules on his throne,
king of the flood ^[d] forever. ¹¹Pray that our LORD
will make us strong
and give us peace.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 29:1angels: Or " supernatural beings" or " gods."
2. Psalm 29:2most. . . glorious: Or " in his holy place" or " and wear your glorious clothes."
3. Psalm 29:9makes. . . time: Or " twists the oak trees around."
4. Psalm 29:10king of the flood: In ancient times the people of Israel believed that a mighty ocean surrounded all of creation, and that God could release the water to flood the earth.

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Proverbs 7:6-23 (Contemporary English Version)

⁶From the window of my house,
I once happened to see
⁷some foolish young men.
⁸It was late in the evening,
sometime after dark.
⁹One of these young men
turned the corner
and was walking by the house
of an unfaithful wife.
¹⁰She was dressed fancy
like a woman of the street
with only one thing in mind.
¹¹She was one of those women
who are loud and restless
and never stay at home,
¹²who walk street after street,
waiting to trap a man.
¹³She grabbed him and kissed him,
and with no sense of shame,
she said:
¹⁴"I had to offer a sacrifice,
and there is enough meat
left over for a feast.
¹⁵So I came looking for you,
and here you are!
¹⁶The sheets on my bed
are bright-colored cloth
from Egypt.
¹⁷And I have covered it
with perfume
made of myrrh,
aloes, and cinnamon.
¹⁸"Let's go there
and make love all night.
¹⁹My husband is traveling,
and he's far away.
²⁰He took a lot of money along,
and he won't be back home
before the middle
of the month."
²¹And so, she tricked him
with all of her sweet talk
and her flattery.
²²Right away he followed her
like an ox on the way
to be slaughtered,
or like a fool on the way
to be punished ^[a]23and killed with arrows.
He was no more than a bird
rushing into a trap,
without knowing
it would cost him his life.

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 7:22a fool. . . punished: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

 

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Verse of the Day

 

“The LORD is truthful; he can be trusted. He loves justice and fairness, and he is kind to everyone everywhere on earth.” - Psalm 33:4-5

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

English cleric, writer and collector, well known for his eccentricities, Charles Caleb Colton wrote, “The present time has one advantage over every other - it is our own.”