Bible Readings for January 28, 2015

Today our passages are Exodus 5:22–7:24; Matthew 18:23–19:12; Psalm 23:1-6; and Proverbs 5:22-23. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.  

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Exodus 5:22-7:24 (Contemporary English Version)

The LORD's Promise to Moses

²²Moses left them and prayed, " Our LORD, why have you brought so much trouble on your people? Is that why you sent me here? ²³Ever since you told me to speak to the king, ^[a] he has caused nothing but trouble for these people. And you haven't done a thing to help."

Exodus 6

¹The LORD God told Moses: Soon you will see what I will do to the king. Because of my mighty power, he will let my people go, and he will even chase them out of his country.
²My name is the LORD. ^[b]3But when I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I came as God All-Powerful and did not use my name. ⁴I made an agreement and promised them the land of Canaan, where they were living as foreigners. ⁵Now I have seen how the people of Israel are suffering because of the Egyptians, and I will keep my promise. ⁶Here is my message for Israel: " I am the LORD! And with my mighty power I will punish the Egyptians and free you from slavery. ⁷I will accept you as my people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I was the one who rescued you from the Egyptians. ⁸I will bring you into the land that I solemnly promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and it will be yours. I am the LORD!"
⁹When Moses told this to the Israelites, they were too discouraged and mistreated to believe him.
¹⁰Then the LORD told Moses ¹¹to demand that the king of Egypt let the Israelites leave. ¹²But Moses replied, " I'm not a powerful speaker. If the Israelites won't listen to me, why should the king of Egypt?" ¹³But the LORD sent Aaron and Moses with a message for the Israelites and for the king; he also ordered Aaron and Moses to free the people from Egypt.

Family Record of Aaron and Moses

¹⁴The following men were the heads of their ancestral clans: The sons of Reuben, Jacob's ^[c] oldest son, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. ¹⁵The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman.
¹⁶Levi lived to be one hundred thirty-seven; his sons were Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
¹⁷Gershon's sons were Libni and Shimei.
¹⁸Kohath lived to be one hundred thirty-three; his sons were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
¹⁹Merari's sons were Mahli and Mushi. All of the above were from the Levi tribe.
²⁰Amram lived to be one hundred thirty-seven. He married his father's sister Jochebed, and they had two sons, Aaron and Moses.
²¹Izhar's sons were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
²²Uzziel's sons were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
²³Aaron married Elisheba. She was the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon; they had four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
²⁴Korah's sons were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph.
²⁵Aaron's son Eleazar married one of Putiel's daughters, and their son was Phinehas. This ends the list of those who were the heads of clans in the Levi tribe.
²⁶The LORD had commanded Aaron and Moses to lead every family and tribe of Israel out of Egypt, ²⁷and so they ordered the king of Egypt to set the people of Israel free.

The LORD Commands Moses and Aaron To Speak to the King

²⁸When the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, ²⁹he said, " I am the LORD. Tell the king ^[d] of Egypt everything I say to you." ³⁰But Moses answered, " You know I am a very poor speaker, and the king will never listen to me."

Exodus 7

¹The LORD said: I am going to let your brother Aaron speak for you. He will tell your message to the king, just as a prophet speaks my message to the people. ²Tell Aaron everything I say to you, and he will order the king to let my people leave his country. ^3-4But I will make the king so stubborn that he won't listen to you. He won't listen even when I do many terrible things to him and his nation. Then I will bring a final punishment on Egypt, and the king will let Israel's families and tribes go. ⁵When this happens, the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.
⁶Moses and Aaron obeyed the LORD ⁷and spoke to the king. At the time, Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three.

A Stick Turns into a Snake

^8-9The LORD said, " Moses, when the king asks you and Aaron to perform a miracle, command Aaron to throw his walking stick down in front of the king, and it will turn into a snake." ¹⁰Moses and Aaron went to the king and his officials and did exactly as the LORD had commanded--Aaron threw the stick down, and it turned into a snake. ¹¹Then the king called in the wise men and the magicians, who used their secret powers to do the same thing-- ¹²they threw down sticks that turned into snakes. But Aaron's snake swallowed theirs. ¹³The king behaved just as the LORD had said and stubbornly refused to listen.

The Nile River Turns into Blood

¹⁴The LORD said to Moses: The Egyptian king stubbornly refuses to change his mind and let the people go. ¹⁵Tomorrow morning take the stick that turned into a snake, then wait beside the Nile River for the king. ¹⁶Tell him, " The LORD God of the Hebrews sent me to order you to release his people, so they can worship him in the desert. But until now, you have paid no attention.
¹⁷" The LORD is going to do something to show you that he really is the LORD. I will strike the Nile with this stick, and the water will turn into blood. ¹⁸The fish will die, the river will stink, and none of you Egyptians will be able to drink the water."
¹⁹Moses, then command Aaron to hold his stick over the water. And when he does, every drop of water in Egypt will turn into blood, including rivers, canals, ponds, and even the water in buckets and jars.
²⁰Moses and Aaron obeyed the LORD. Aaron held out his stick, then struck the Nile, as the king and his officials watched. The river turned into blood, ²¹the fish died, and the water smelled so bad that none of the Egyptians could drink it. Blood was everywhere in Egypt.
²²But the Egyptian magicians used their secret powers to do the same thing. The king did just as the LORD had said--he stubbornly refused to listen. ²³Then he went back to his palace and never gave it a second thought. ²⁴The Egyptians had to dig holes along the banks of the Nile for drinking water, because water from the river was unfit to drink.

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 5:23the king: See the note at 1.11.
2. Exodus 6:2My name is the LORD: See the note at 3.14,15.
3. Exodus 6:14Jacob: The Hebrew text has " Israel," Jacob's name after God renamed him.
4. Exodus 6:29the king: See the note at 1.11.

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Matthew 18:23-19:12 (Contemporary English Version)

²³This story will show you what the kingdom of heaven is like: One day a king decided to call in his officials and ask them to give an account of what they owed him. ²⁴As he was doing this, one official was brought in who owed him fifty million silver coins. ²⁵But he didn't have any money to pay what he owed. The king ordered him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all he owned, in order to pay the debt.
²⁶The official got down on his knees and began begging, "Have pity on me, and I will pay you every cent I owe!" ²⁷The king felt sorry for him and let him go free. He even told the official that he did not have to pay back the money.
²⁸As the official was leaving, he happened to meet another official, who owed him a hundred silver coins. So he grabbed the man by the throat. He started choking him and said, "Pay me what you owe!"
²⁹The man got down on his knees and began begging, "Have pity on me, and I will pay you back." ³⁰But the first official refused to have pity. Instead, he went and had the other official put in jail until he could pay what he owed.
³¹When some other officials found out what had happened, they felt sorry for the man who had been put in jail. Then they told the king what had happened. ³²The king called the first official back in and said, "You're an evil man! When you begged for mercy, I said you did not have to pay back a cent. ³³Don't you think you should show pity to someone else, as I did to you?" ³⁴The king was so angry that he ordered the official to be tortured until he could pay back everything he owed. ³⁵That is how my Father in heaven will treat you, if you don't forgive each of my followers with all your heart.

Matthew 19

Teaching about Divorce

(Mark 10.1-12)

¹When Jesus finished teaching, he left Galilee and went to the part of Judea that is east of the Jordan River. ²Large crowds followed him, and he healed their sick people. ³Some Pharisees wanted to test Jesus. They came up to him and asked, "Is it right for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?"
⁴Jesus answered, "Don't you know that in the beginning the Creator made a man and a woman? ⁵That's why a man leaves his father and mother and gets married. He becomes like one person with his wife. ⁶Then they are no longer two people, but one. And no one should separate a couple that God has joined together."
⁷The Pharisees asked Jesus, "Why did Moses say that a man could write out divorce papers and send his wife away?"
⁸Jesus replied, "You are so heartless! That's why Moses allowed you to divorce your wife. But from the beginning God did not intend it to be that way. ⁹I say that if your wife has not committed some terrible sexual sin, ^[a] you must not divorce her to marry someone else. If you do, you are unfaithful." ¹⁰The disciples said, "If that's how it is between a man and a woman, it's better not to get married."
¹¹Jesus told them, "Only those people who have been given the gift of staying single can accept this teaching. ¹²Some people are unable to marry because of birth defects or because of what someone has done to their bodies. Others stay single for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Anyone who can accept this teaching should do so."

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 19:9some terrible sexual sin: See the note at 5.32.

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Psalm 23:1-6 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 23

(A psalm by David.)

The Good Shepherd

¹You, LORD, are my shepherd. I will never be in need.
²You let me rest in fields
of green grass.
You lead me to streams
of peaceful water,
³and you refresh my life.
You are true to your name,
and you lead me
along the right paths.
⁴I may walk through valleys
as dark as death,
but I won't be afraid.
You are with me,
and your shepherd's rod ^[a] makes me feel safe.
⁵You treat me to a feast,
while my enemies watch.
You honor me as your guest,
and you fill my cup
until it overflows.
⁶Your kindness and love
will always be with me
each day of my life,
and I will live forever
in your house, LORD.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 23:4shepherd's rod: The Hebrew text mentions two objects carried by the shepherd: a club to defend against wild animals and a long pole to guide and control the sheep.

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Proverbs 5:22-23 (Contemporary English Version)

²²Sinners are trapped and caught
by their own evil deeds.
²³They get lost and die
because of their foolishness
and lack of self-control.

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Verse of the Day

“God is Spirit, and those who worship God must be led by the Spirit to worship him according to the truth.” - John 4:24

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature, José Martí wrote, “Happiness exists on earth, and it is won through prudent exercise of reason, knowledge of the harmony of the universe, and constant practice of generosity.”