Bible Readings for April 17, 2017

Today our passages are Joshua 15:1-63; Luke 18:18-43; Psalm 86:1-17; and Proverbs 13:9-10. The readings are from 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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Joshua 15:1-63 (Contemporary English Version)

Joshua 15

Judah's Land

 ¹The clans of the Judah tribe were given land that went south along the border of Edom, and at its farthest point south it even reached the Zin Desert. ²Judah's southern border started at the south end of the Dead Sea. ³As it went west from there, it ran south of Scorpion Pass ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} to Zin, and then came up from the south to Kadesh-Barnea. It continued past Hezron up to Addar, turned toward Karka, ⁴and ran along to Azmon. After that, it followed the Egyptian Gorge and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was also Israel's southern border. ⁵Judah's eastern border ran the full length of the Dead Sea.    The northern border started at the northern end of the Dead Sea. ^{[b<="">] 6}From there it went west up to Beth-Hoglah, continued north of Beth-Arabah, and went up to the Monument of Bohan, ^[c<="">] who belonged to the Reuben tribe. ⁷From there, it went to Trouble Valley ^[d<="">] and Debir, ^[e<="">] then turned north and went to Gilgal, ^[f<="">] which is on the north side of the valley across from Adummim Pass. It continued on to Enshemesh, Enrogel, ⁸and up through Hinnom Valley on the land sloping south from Jerusalem. The city of Jerusalem itself belonged to the Jebusites. Next, the border went up to the top of the mountain on the west side of Hinnom Valley and at the north end of Rephaim Valley. ⁹At the top of the mountain it turned and went to Nephtoah Spring and then to the ruins ^[g<="">] on Mount Ephron. From there, it went to Baalah, which is now called Kiriath-Jearim. ¹⁰From Baalah the northern border curved west to Mount Seir and then ran along the northern ridge of Mount Jearim, where Chesalon is located. Then it went down to Beth-Shemesh ^[h<="">] and over to Timnah. ¹¹It continued along to the hillside north of Ekron, curved around to Shikkeron, and then went to Mount Baalah. After going to Jabneel, the border finally ended at the Mediterranean Sea, ¹²which was Judah's western border. The clans of Judah lived within these borders.
   

Caleb's Land

(Judges 1.12-15)

 ¹³Joshua gave Caleb some land among the people of Judah, as God had told him to do. Caleb's share was Hebron, which at that time was known as Arba's Town, ^[i<="">] because Arba was the famous ancestor of the Anakim. ^{[j<="">] 14}Caleb attacked Hebron and forced the three Anakim clans of ^[k<="">] Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai to leave. ¹⁵Next, Caleb started a war with the town of Debir, which at that time was called Kiriath-Sepher. ¹⁶He told his men, " The man who captures Kiriath-Sepher can marry my daughter Achsah." ¹⁷Caleb's nephew Othniel ^[l<="">] captured Kiriath-Sepher, and Caleb let him marry Achsah. ¹⁸Right after the wedding, Achsah started telling Othniel that he ^[m<="">] ought to ask her father for a field. She went to see her father, and while she was getting down from ^[n<="">] her donkey, Caleb asked her, " What's bothering you?" ¹⁹She answered, " I need your help. The land you gave me is in the Southern Desert, so I really need some spring-fed ponds ^[o<="">] for a water supply." Caleb gave her a couple of small ponds, named Higher Pond and Lower Pond. ^[p<="">]

Towns in Judah's Land

 ²⁰The following is a list of the towns in each region given to the Judah clans:     ^21-32The first region was located in the Southern Desert along the border with Edom, and it had the following twenty-nine towns with their surrounding villages:
   Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Aradah, ^[q<="">] Kedesh, Hazor of Ithnan, ^[r<="">] Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor-Hadattah, Kerioth-Hezron, which is also called Hazor, Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar-Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth-Pelet, Hazar-Shual, Beersheba and its surrounding villages, ^[s<="">] Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Chesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, and Enrimmon. ^{[t<="">] 33-36}The second region was located in the northern part of the lower foothills, and it had the following fourteen towns with their surrounding villages:
   Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En-Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim, Gederah, and Gederothaim.
    ^37-41The third region was located in the southern part of the lower foothills, and it had the following sixteen towns with their surrounding villages:
   Zenan, Hadashah, Migdalgad, Dilan, Mizpeh, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, ^[u<="">] Chitlish, Gederoth, Beth-Dagon, Naamah, and Makkedah. ^42-44The fourth region was located in the central part of the lower foothills, and it had the following nine towns with their surrounding villages:
   Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Achzib, and Mareshah.
    ^45-47The fifth region was located along the Mediterranean seacoast, and it had the following towns with their surrounding settlements and villages:
   Ekron and the towns between there and the coast, Ashdod and the larger towns nearby, Gaza, the towns from Gaza to the Egyptian Gorge, and the towns along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea.
    ^48-51The sixth region was in the southwestern part of the hill country, and it had the following eleven towns with their surrounding villages:
   Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath-Sannah, which is now called Debir, Anab, Eshtemoh, ^[v<="">] Anim, Goshen, Holon, and Giloh. ^52-54The seventh region was located in the south-central part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following nine towns with their surrounding villages:
   Arab, Dumah, ^[w<="">] Eshan, Janim, Beth-Tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath-Arba, which is now called Hebron, and Zior. ^55-57The eighth region was located in the southeastern part of the hill country, and it had the following ten towns with their surrounding villages:
   Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, ^[x<="">] Jokdeam, ^[y<="">] Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah, ^[z<="">] and Timnah. ^58-59The ninth region was located in the central part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following six towns with their surrounding villages:
   Halhul, Beth-Zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth-Anoth, and Eltekon.
   The tenth region was located in the north-central part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following eleven towns with their surrounding villages:
   Tekoa, Ephrath, which is also called Bethlehem, Peor, Etam, Culon, Tatam, Shoresh, Kerem, Gallim, Bether, and Manahath. ^{[aa<="">] 60}The eleventh region was located in the northern part of Judah's hill country, and it had the following two towns with their surrounding villages:
   Rabbah, and Kiriath-Baal, which is also called Kiriath-Jearim.
    ^61-62The twelfth region was located in the desert along the Dead Sea, and it had the following six towns with their surrounding villages:
   Beth-Arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, Salt Town, and En-Gedi.
   

The Jebusites

 ⁶³The Jebusites lived in Jerusalem, and the people of the Judah tribe could not capture the city and get rid of them. That's why Jebusites still live in Jerusalem along with the people of Judah. ^[ab<="">]

Footnotes:

1. Joshua 15:3 Scorpion Pass: Or " Akrabbim Pass."
2. Joshua 15:5 at. . . Dead Sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
3. Joshua 15:6 Monument of Bohan: Or " Bohan Rock," possibly a natural rock formation.
4. Joshua 15:7 Trouble Valley: Or " Achor Valley."
5. Joshua 15:7 Debir: Not the same town as in 10.38,39.
6. Joshua 15:7 Gilgal: Not the same " Gilgal" as in 4.19.
7. Joshua 15:9 ruins: Hebrew; one ancient translation " towns."
8. Joshua 15:10 Beth-Shemesh: Probably the same town as the Ir-Shemesh of 19.41-46. Two other towns were also named Beth-Shemesh (see 19.17-23 and 19.35-39).
9. Joshua 15:13 Arba's Town: See the note at 14.15.
10. Joshua 15:13 Anakim: See the note at 11.21.
11. Joshua 15:14 clans of: Or " warriors."
12. Joshua 15:17 Caleb's nephew Othniel: Hebrew " Othniel the son of Caleb's brother Kenaz."
13. Joshua 15:18 Achsah. . . Othniel. . . he: Hebrew; one manuscript of one ancient translation and two ancient translations of the parallel in Judges 1.14 " Othniel. . . Achsah. . . she."
14. Joshua 15:18 getting down from: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
15. Joshua 15:19 spring-fed ponds: Or " wells."
16. Joshua 15:19 small ponds. . . Pond. . . Pond: Or " wells. . . Well. . . Well."
17. Joshua 15:21 Aradah: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
18. Joshua 15:21 Hazor of Ithnan: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Hazor and Ithnan."
19. Joshua 15:21 its. . . villages: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Biziothiah."
20. Joshua 15:21 Enrimmon: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Ain and Rimmon."
21. Joshua 15:37 Lahmas: Most Hebrew manuscripts; many other Hebrew manuscripts and one manuscript of one ancient translation " Lahmam."
22. Joshua 15:48 Eshtemoh: Another spelling for the name Eshtemoa (see 21.9-19).
23. Joshua 15:52 Dumah: Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation " Rumah."
24. Joshua 15:55 Jezreel: Not the same Jezreel as in 19.17-23.
25. Joshua 15:55 Jokdeam: Hebrew; one ancient translation " Jorkeam."
26. Joshua 15:55 Gibeah: Not the same Gibeah as in 18.25-28.
27. Joshua 15:58 The tenth region. . . Manahath: One ancient translation; the Hebrew text does not have these words.
28. Joshua 15:63 Jebusites. . . Judah: Israel captured Jerusalem in King David's time, but even then the Jebusites were not forced to leave.

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Luke 18:18-43 (Contemporary English Version)

A Rich and Important Man

(Matthew 19.16-30; Mark 10.17-31)

 ¹⁸An important man asked Jesus, "Good Teacher, what must I do to have eternal life?"     ¹⁹Jesus said, "Why do you call me good? Only God is good. ²⁰You know the commandments: `Be faithful in marriage. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not tell lies about others. Respect your father and mother.' "
    ²¹He told Jesus, "I have obeyed all these commandments since I was a young man."
    ²²When Jesus heard this, he said, "There is one thing you still need to do. Go and sell everything you own! Give the money to the poor, and you will have riches in heaven. Then come and be my follower." ²³When the man heard this, he was sad, because he was very rich.
    ²⁴Jesus saw how sad the man was. So he said, "It's terribly hard for rich people to get into God's kingdom! ²⁵In fact, it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into God's kingdom."
    ²⁶When the crowd heard this, they asked, "How can anyone ever be saved?"
    ²⁷Jesus replied, "There are some things that people cannot do, but God can do anything."
    ²⁸Peter said, "Remember, we left everything to be your followers!"
    ²⁹Jesus answered, "You can be sure that anyone who gives up home or wife or brothers or family or children because of God's kingdom ³⁰will be given much more in this life. And in the future world they will have eternal life."
   

Jesus Again Tells about His Death

(Matthew 20.17-19; Mark 10.32-34)

 ³¹Jesus took the twelve apostles aside and said:    We are now on our way to Jerusalem. Everything that the prophets wrote about the Son of Man will happen there. ³²He will be handed over to foreigners, ^{a<="" value="[a]" >[]} who will make fun of him, mistreat him, and spit on him. ³³They will beat him and kill him, but three days later he will rise to life. ³⁴The apostles did not understand what Jesus was talking about. They could not understand, because the meaning of what he said was hidden from them.
   

Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar

(Matthew 20.29-34; Mark 10.46-52)

 ³⁵When Jesus was coming close to Jericho, a blind man sat begging beside the road. ³⁶The man heard the crowd walking by and asked what was happening. ³⁷Some people told him that Jesus from Nazareth was passing by. ³⁸So the blind man shouted, "Jesus, Son of David, ^[b<="">] have pity on me!" ³⁹The people who were going along with Jesus told the man to be quiet. But he shouted even louder, "Son of David, have pity on me!" ⁴⁰Jesus stopped and told some people to bring the blind man over to him. When the blind man was getting near, Jesus asked, ⁴¹"What do you want me to do for you?"    "Lord, I want to see!" he answered.
    ⁴²Jesus replied, "Look and you will see! Your eyes are healed because of your faith." ⁴³Right away the man could see, and he went with Jesus and started thanking God. When the crowds saw what happened, they praised God.
   

Footnotes:

1. Luke 18:32 foreigners: The Romans, who ruled Judea at this time.
2. Luke 18:38 Son of David: The Jewish people expected the Messiah to be from the family of King David, and for this reason the Messiah was often called the " Son of David."

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Psalm 86:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 86

(A prayer by David.)

A Prayer for Help

 ¹Please listen, LORD,    and answer my prayer!
   I am poor and helpless.
    ²Protect me and save me
   because you are my God.
   I am your faithful servant,
   and I trust you.
    ³Be kind to me!
   I pray to you all day.
    ⁴Make my heart glad!
   I serve you,
   and my prayer is sincere.
    ⁵You willingly forgive,
   and your love is always there
   for those who pray to you.
    ⁶Please listen, LORD!
   Answer my prayer for help.
    ⁷When I am in trouble, I pray,
   knowing you will listen.
    ⁸No other gods are like you;
   only you work miracles.
    ⁹You created each nation,
   and they will all bow down
   to worship and honor you.
    ¹⁰You perform great wonders
   because you alone are God.
    ¹¹Teach me to follow you,
   and I will obey your truth.
   Always keep me faithful.
    ¹²With all my heart I thank you.
   I praise you, LORD God.
    ¹³Your love for me is so great
   that you protected me
   from death and the grave.
    ¹⁴Proud and violent enemies,
   who don't care about you,
   have ganged up to attack
   and kill me.
    ¹⁵But you, the Lord God,
   are kind and merciful.
   You don't easily get angry,
   and your love
   can always be trusted.
    ¹⁶I serve you, LORD,
   and I am the child
   of one of your servants.
   Look on me with kindness.
   Make me strong and save me.
    ¹⁷Show that you approve of me!
   Then my hateful enemies
   will feel like fools,
   because you have helped
   and comforted me.

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Proverbs 13:9-10 (Contemporary English Version)

⁹The lamp of a good person
   keeps on shining;
   the lamp of an evil person
   soon goes out.
    ¹⁰Too much pride causes trouble.
   Be sensible and take advice.

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Verse of the Day

“[Christ Is God's Power and Wisdom]The message about the cross doesn't make any sense to lost people. But for those of us who are being saved, it is God's power at work.” - 1 Corinthians 1:18

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American playwright and novelist, Thornton Wilder wrote, “When God loves a creature he wants the creature to know the highest happiness and the deepest misery He wants him to know all that being alive can bring. That is his best gift. There is no happiness save in understanding the whole.”