Bible Readings for January 30, 2017

Today our passages are Exodus 10:1–12:13; Matthew 20:1-28; Psalm 25:1-15; and Proverbs 6:6-11. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. If you find these readings helpful, please consider sending an offering directly to Cove Presbyterian Church, 3404 Main Street, Weirton, West Virginia or through PayPal by using the link below.

 

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Exodus 10-12:13 (Contemporary English Version)

Exodus 10

Locusts

¹The LORD said to Moses: Go back to the king. ^[a] I have made him and his officials stubborn, so that I could work these miracles. ²I did this because I want you to tell your children and your grandchildren about my miracles and about my harsh treatment of the Egyptians. Then all of you will know that I am the LORD. ³Moses and Aaron went to the king and told him that the LORD God of the Hebrews had said:
How long will you stubbornly refuse to obey? Release my people so they can worship me. ⁴Do this by tomorrow, or I will cover your country with so many locusts ^[b]5that you won't be able to see the ground. Most of your crops were ruined by the hailstones, but these locusts will destroy what little is left, including the trees. ⁶Your palace, the homes of your officials, and all other houses in Egypt will overflow with more locusts than have ever been seen in this country. After Moses left the palace, ⁷the king's officials asked, " Your Majesty, how much longer is this man going to be a troublemaker? Why don't you let the people leave, so they can worship the LORD their God? Don't you know that Egypt is a disaster?"
⁸The king had Moses and Aaron brought back, and he said, " All right, you may go and worship the LORD your God. But first tell me who will be going."
⁹" Everyone, young and old," Moses answered. " We will even take our sheep, goats, and cattle, because we want to hold a celebration in honor of the LORD."
¹⁰The king replied, " The LORD had better watch over you on the day I let you leave with your families! You're up to no good. ¹¹Do you want to worship the LORD? All right, take only the men and go." Then Moses and Aaron were chased out of the palace.
¹²The LORD told Moses, " Stretch your arm toward Egypt. Swarms of locusts will come and eat everything left by the hail."
¹³Moses held out his walking stick, and the LORD sent an east wind that blew across Egypt the rest of the day and all that night. By morning, locusts ¹⁴were swarming everywhere. Never before had there been so many locusts in Egypt, and never again will there be so many. ¹⁵The ground was black with locusts, and they ate everything left on the trees and in the fields. Nothing green remained in Egypt--not a tree or a plant.
¹⁶At once the king sent for Moses and Aaron. He told them, " I have sinned against the LORD your God and against you. ¹⁷Forgive me one more time and ask the LORD to stop these insects from killing every living plant."
¹⁸Moses left the palace and prayed. ¹⁹Then the LORD sent a strong west wind ^[c] that swept the locusts into the Red Sea. ^[d] Not one locust was left anywhere in Egypt, ²⁰but the LORD made the king so stubborn that he still refused to let the Israelites go.

Darkness

²¹The LORD said to Moses, " Stretch your arm toward the sky, and everything will be covered with darkness thick enough to touch." ²²Moses stretched his arm toward the sky, and Egypt was covered with darkness for three days. ²³During that time, the Egyptians could not see each other or leave their homes, but there was light where the Israelites lived. ²⁴The king ^[e] sent for Moses and told him, " Go worship the LORD! And take your families with you. Just leave your sheep, goats, and cattle." ²⁵" No!" Moses replied. " You must let us offer sacrifices to the LORD our God, ²⁶and we won't know which animals we will need until we get there. That's why we can't leave even one of them here."
²⁷This time the LORD made the king so stubborn ²⁸that he said to Moses, " Get out and stay out! If you ever come back, you're dead!"
²⁹" Have it your way," Moses answered. " You won't see me again."

Exodus 11

Moses Warns the Egyptians That the LORD Will Kill Their First-Born Sons

¹The LORD said to Moses: I am going to punish the king ^[f] of Egypt and his people one more time. Then the king will gladly let you leave his land, so that I will stop punishing the Egyptians. He will even chase you out. ²Now go and tell my people to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver jewelry. ³So the LORD made the Egyptians greatly respect the Israelites, and everyone, including the king and his officials, considered Moses an important leader.
⁴Moses went to the king and said:
I have come to let you know what the LORD is going to do. About midnight he will go through the land of Egypt, ⁵and wherever he goes, the first-born son in every family will die. Your own son will die, and so will the son of the lowest slave woman. Even the first-born males of cattle will die. ⁶Everywhere in Egypt there will be loud crying. Nothing like this has ever happened before or will ever happen again.
⁷But there won't be any need for the Israelites to cry. Things will be so quiet that not even a dog will be heard barking. Then you Egyptians will know that the LORD is good to the Israelites, even while he punishes you. ⁸Your leaders will come and bow down, begging me to take my people and leave your country. Then we will leave.
Moses was very angry; he turned and left the king.
⁹What the LORD had earlier said to Moses came true. He had said, " The king of Egypt won't listen. Then I will perform even more miracles." ¹⁰So the king of Egypt saw Moses and Aaron work miracles, but the LORD made him stubbornly refuse to let the Israelites leave his country.

Exodus 12

The Passover

¹Some time later the LORD said to Moses and Aaron: ²This month is to be the first month of the year for you. ³Tell the people of Israel that on the tenth day of this month the head of each family must choose a lamb or a young goat for his family to eat. ^4-5If any family is too small to eat the whole animal, they must share it with their next-door neighbors. Choose either a sheep or a goat, but it must be a one-year-old male that has nothing wrong with it. And it must be large enough for everyone to have some of the meat.
⁶Each family must take care of its animal until the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, when the animals are to be killed. ⁷Some of the blood must be put on the two doorposts and above the door of each house where the animals are to be eaten. ⁸That night the animals are to be roasted and eaten, together with bitter herbs and thin bread made without yeast. ⁹Don't eat the meat raw or boiled. The entire animal, including its head, legs, and insides, must be roasted. ¹⁰Eat what you want that night, and the next morning burn whatever is left. ¹¹When you eat the meal, be dressed and ready to travel. Have your sandals on, carry your walking stick in your hand, and eat quickly. This is the Passover Festival in honor of me, your LORD.
¹²That same night I will pass through Egypt and kill the first-born son in every family and the first-born male of all animals. I am the LORD, and I will punish the gods of Egypt. ¹³The blood on the houses will show me where you live, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. Then you won't be bothered by the terrible disasters I will bring on Egypt.

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 10:1the king: See the note at 1.11.
2. Exodus 10:4locusts: A type of grasshopper that comes in swarms and causes great damage to crops.
3. Exodus 10:19west wind: The Hebrew text has " wind from the sea," referring to the Mediterranean Sea (see verse 13).
4. Exodus 10:19Red Sea: Hebrew yam suph, here referring to the Gulf of Suez, since the term is extended to include the northwestern arm of the Red Sea (see also the note at 13.18).
5. Exodus 10:24The king: See the note at 1.11.
6. Exodus 11:1This month: Abib (also called Nisan), the first month of the Hebrew calendar, from about mid-March to mid-April.

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Matthew 20:1-28 (Contemporary English Version)

Matthew 20

Workers in a Vineyard

¹As Jesus was telling what the kingdom of heaven would be like, he said: Early one morning a man went out to hire some workers for his vineyard. ²After he had agreed to pay them the usual amount for a day's work, he sent them off to his vineyard.
³About nine that morning, the man saw some other people standing in the market with nothing to do. ⁴He said he would pay them what was fair, if they would work in his vineyard. ⁵So they went.
At noon and again about three in the afternoon he returned to the market. And each time he made the same agreement with others who were loafing around with nothing to do.
⁶Finally, about five in the afternoon the man went back and found some others standing there. He asked them, "Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?"
⁷"Because no one has hired us," they answered. Then he told them to go work in his vineyard.
⁸That evening the owner of the vineyard told the man in charge of the workers to call them in and give them their money. He also told the man to begin with the ones who were hired last. ⁹When the workers arrived, the ones who had been hired at five in the afternoon were given a full day's pay.
¹⁰The workers who had been hired first thought they would be given more than the others. But when they were given the same, ¹¹they began complaining to the owner of the vineyard. ¹²They said, "The ones who were hired last worked for only one hour. But you paid them the same that you did us. And we worked in the hot sun all day long!"
¹³The owner answered one of them, "Friend, I didn't cheat you. I paid you exactly what we agreed on. ¹⁴Take your money now and go! What business is it of yours if I want to pay them the same that I paid you? ¹⁵Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Why should you be jealous, if I want to be generous?"
¹⁶Jesus then said, "So it is. Everyone who is now first will be last, and everyone who is last will be first."

Jesus Again Tells about His Death

(Mark 10.32-34; Luke 18.31-34)

¹⁷As Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, he took his twelve disciples aside and told them in private: ¹⁸We are now on our way to Jerusalem, where the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses. They will sentence him to death, ¹⁹and then they will hand him over to foreigners ^[a] who will make fun of him. They will beat him and nail him to a cross. But on the third day he will rise from death.

A Mother's Request

(Mark 10.35-45)

²⁰The mother of James and John ^[b] came to Jesus with her two sons. She knelt down and started begging him to do something for her. ²¹Jesus asked her what she wanted, and she said, "When you come into your kingdom, please let one of my sons sit at your right side and the other at your left." ^[c]22Jesus answered, "Not one of you knows what you are asking. Are you able to drink from the cup ^[d] that I must soon drink from?" James and John said, "Yes, we are!" ²³Jesus replied, "You certainly will drink from my cup! But it isn't for me to say who will sit at my right side and at my left. That is for my Father to say."
²⁴When the ten other disciples heard this, they were angry with the two brothers. ²⁵But Jesus called the disciples together and said:
You know that foreign rulers like to order their people around. And their great leaders have full power over everyone they rule. ²⁶But don't act like them. If you want to be great, you must be the servant of all the others. ²⁷And if you want to be first, you must be the slave of the rest. ²⁸The Son of Man did not come to be a slave master, but a slave who will give his life to rescue ^[e] many people.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 20:19foreigners: The Romans, who ruled Judea at this time.
2. Matthew 20:20mother of James and John: The Greek text has "mother of the sons of Zebedee" (see 26.37).
3. Matthew 20:21right side. . . left: The most powerful people in a kingdom sat at the right and left side of the king.
4. Matthew 20:22drink from the cup: In the Scriptures a cup is sometimes used as a symbol of suffering. To "drink from the cup" is to suffer.
5. Matthew 20:28rescue: The Greek word often, though not always, means the payment of a price to free a slave or a prisoner.

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Psalm 25:1-15 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 25

(By David.)

A Prayer for Guidance and Help

¹I offer you my heart, LORD God, ²and I trust you.
Don't make me ashamed
or let enemies defeat me.
³Don't disappoint any
of your worshipers,
but disappoint all
deceitful liars.
⁴Show me your paths
and teach me to follow;
⁵guide me by your truth
and instruct me.
You keep me safe,
and I always trust you.
⁶Please, LORD, remember,
you have always
been patient and kind.
⁷Forget each wrong I did
when I was young.
Show how truly kind you are
and remember me.
⁸You are honest and merciful,
and you teach sinners
how to follow your path.
⁹You lead humble people
to do what is right
and to stay on your path.
¹⁰In everything you do,
you are kind and faithful
to everyone who keeps
our agreement with you.
¹¹Be true to your name, LORD,
by forgiving each one
of my terrible sins.
¹²You will show the right path
to all who worship you.
¹³They will have plenty,
and then their children
will receive the land.
¹⁴Our LORD, you are the friend
of your worshipers,
and you make an agreement
with all of us.
¹⁵I always look to you,
because you rescue me
from every trap.

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Proverbs 6:6-11 (Contemporary English Version)

⁶You lazy people can learn
by watching an anthill.
⁷Ants don't have leaders,
⁸but they store up food
during harvest season.
⁹How long will you lie there
doing nothing at all?
When are you going to get up
and stop sleeping?
¹⁰Sleep a little. Doze a little.
Fold your hands
and twiddle your thumbs.
¹¹Suddenly, everything is gone,
as though it had been taken
by an armed robber.

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Verse of the Day
“Always be humble and gentle. Patiently put up with each other and love each other.” - Ephesians 4:2

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American science fiction author and astrophysicist, Gregory Benford wrote, “Any technology that does not appear magical is insufficiently advanced.”