Bible Readings for April 18, 2015

Today our passages are Joshua 16:1–18:28; Luke 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; and Proverbs 13:11. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson.

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Joshua 16-18:28 (Contemporary English Version)

Joshua 16

Ephraim's Land

 ^1-4Ephraim and Manasseh are the two tribes descended from Joseph, and the following is a description of the land they received. The southern border of their land started at the Jordan River east of the spring at Jericho. From there it went west through the desert up to the hill country around Bethel. From Bethel it went to Luz and then ^[a] to the border of the Archites in Ataroth. ^[b] It continued west down to the land that belonged to the Japhlet clan, then went on to Lower Beth-Horon, Gezer, and the Mediterranean Sea. ⁵The following is a description of the land that was divided among the clans of the Ephraim tribe. Their southern border started at Ataroth-Addar and went west to Upper Beth-Horon ^6-8and the Mediterranean Sea. Their northern border started on the east at Janoah, curved a little to the north, then came back south to Michmethath and Tappuah, where it followed the Kanah Gorge west to the Mediterranean Sea.    The eastern border started on the north near Janoah and went between Janoah on the southwest and Taanath-Shiloh on the northeast. Then it went south to Ataroth, Naarah, and on as far as the edge of the land that belonged to Jericho. At that point it turned east and went to the Jordan River. The clans of Ephraim received this region as their tribal land. ⁹Ephraim also had some towns and villages that were inside Manasseh's tribal land.
    ¹⁰Ephraim could not force the Canaanites out of Gezer, so there are still some Canaanites who live there among the Israelites. But now these Canaanites have to work as slaves for the Israelites.
   

Joshua 17

Manasseh's Land West of the Jordan River

 ^1-6Manasseh was Joseph's oldest son, and Machir was Manasseh's oldest son. Machir had a son named Gilead, and some of his descendants had already received the regions of Gilead and Bashan because they were good warriors. The other clans of the Manasseh tribe descended from Gilead's sons Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida. The following is a description of the land they received.    Hepher's son Zelophehad did not have any sons, but he did have five daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. One day the clans that were descendants of Zelophehad's five daughters went to the priest Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of Israel. The people of these clans said, " The LORD told Moses to give us land just as he gave land to our relatives." ^[c] Joshua followed the LORD's instructions and gave land to these five clans, as he had given land to the five clans that had descended from Hepher's brothers. ^[d] So Manasseh's land west of the Jordan River was divided into ten parts. ⁷The land of the Manasseh tribe went from its northern border with the Asher tribe south to Michmethath, which is to the east of Shechem. The southern border started there, but curved even farther south to include the people who lived around Tappuah Spring. ^{[e] 8}The town of Tappuah was on Manasseh's border with Ephraim. Although the land around Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, the town itself belonged to Ephraim. ^9-10Then the border went west to the Kanah Gorge and ran along the northern edge of the gorge to the Mediterranean Sea. The land south of the gorge belonged to Ephraim. And even though there were a few towns that belonged to Ephraim north of the gorge, the land north of the gorge belonged to Manasseh.
   The western border of Manasseh was the Mediterranean Sea, and the tribe shared a border with the Asher tribe on the northwest and with the Issachar tribe on the northeast.
    ¹¹Manasseh was supposed to have the following towns with their surrounding villages inside the borders of Issachar's and Asher's tribal lands:
   Beth-Shan, Ibleam, Endor, Taanach, Megiddo, and Dor, which is also called Naphath. ^{[f] 12}But the people of Manasseh could not capture these towns, so the Canaanites kept on living in them. ¹³When the Israelites grew stronger, they made the Canaanites in these towns work as their slaves, though they never did force them to leave.
   

Joseph's Descendants Ask for More Land

 ¹⁴One day the Joseph tribes ^[g] came to Joshua and asked, " Why didn't you give us more land? The LORD has always been kind to us, and we have too many people for this small region." ¹⁵Joshua replied, " If you have so many people that you don't have enough room in the hill country of Ephraim, then go into the forest that belonged to the Perizzites and the Rephaim. ^[h] Clear out the trees and make more room for yourselves there." ¹⁶" Even if we do that," they answered, " there still won't be enough land for us in the hill country. And we can't move down into Jezreel Valley, because the Canaanites who live in Beth-Shan and in other parts of the valley have iron chariots."     ¹⁷" Your tribes do have a lot of people," Joshua admitted. " I'll give you more land. Your tribes are powerful, ¹⁸so you can have the rest of the hill country, but it's a forest, and you'll have to cut down the trees and clear the land. You can also have Jezreel Valley. Even though the Canaanites there are strong and have iron chariots, you can force them to leave the valley."
   

Joshua 18

Joshua Gives Out the Rest of the Land

 ¹After Israel had captured the land, they met at Shiloh and set up the sacred tent. ^{[i] 2}There were still seven tribes without any land, ^3-7so Joshua told the people: The Judah tribe has already settled in its land in the south, and the Joseph tribes ^[j] have settled in their land in the north. The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and East Manasseh already have the land that the LORD's servant Moses gave them east of the Jordan River. And the people of Levi won't get a single large region of the land like the other tribes. Instead, they will serve the LORD as priests. But the rest of you haven't done a thing to take over any land. The LORD God who was worshiped by your ancestors has given you the land, and now it's time to go ahead and settle there.    Seven tribes still don't have any land. Each of these tribes should choose three men, and I'll send them to explore the remaining land. They will divide it into seven regions, write a description of each region, and bring these descriptions back to me. I will find out ^[k] from the LORD our God what region each tribe should get. ⁸Just before the men left camp, Joshua repeated their orders: " Explore the land and write a description of it. Then come back to Shiloh, and I will find out from the LORD how to divide the land."
    ⁹The men left and went across the land, dividing it into seven regions. They wrote down a description of each region, town by town, and returned to Joshua at the camp at Shiloh. ¹⁰Joshua found out from the LORD how to divide the land, and he told the tribes what the LORD had decided.
   

Benjamin's Land

 ¹¹Benjamin was the first tribe chosen to receive land. The region for its clans lay between the Judah tribe on the south and the Joseph tribes ^[l] on the north. ¹²Benjamin's northern border started at the Jordan River and went up the ridge north of Jericho, then on west into the hill country as far as the Beth-Aven Desert. ^13-14From there it went to Luz, which is now called Bethel. The border ran along the ridge south of Luz, then went to Ataroth-Orech ^[m] and on as far as the mountain south of Lower Beth-Horon. At that point it turned south and became the western border. It went as far south as Kiriath-Baal, a town in Judah now called Kiriath-Jearim. ¹⁵Benjamin's southern border started at the edge of Kiriath-Jearim and went east to the ruins ^[n] and on to Nephtoah Spring. ¹⁶From there it went to the bottom of the hill at the northern end of Rephaim Valley. The other side of this hill faces Hinnom Valley, which is on the land that slopes south from Jerusalem. ^[o] The border went down through Hinnom Valley until it reached Enrogel. ¹⁷At Enrogel the border curved north and went to Enshemesh and on east to Geliloth, ^[p] which is across the valley from Adummim Pass. Then it went down to the Monument of Bohan, ^[q] who belonged to the Reuben tribe. ¹⁸The border ran along the hillside north of Beth-Arabah, ^[r] then down into the Jordan River valley. ¹⁹Inside the valley it went south as far as the northern hillside of Beth-Hoglah. The last section of the border went from there to the northern end of the Dead Sea, ^[s] at the mouth of the Jordan River. ²⁰The Jordan River itself was Benjamin's eastern border. These were the borders of Benjamin's tribal land, where the clans of Benjamin lived.     ^21-24One region of Benjamin's tribal land had twelve towns with their surrounding villages. Those towns were Jericho, Beth-Hoglah, Emek-Keziz, Beth-Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Chephar-Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba.
    ^25-28In the other region there were the following fourteen towns with their surrounding villages: Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpeh, Chephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zelah, Haeleph, Gibeah, Kiriath-Jearim, ^[t] and Jerusalem, which is also called Jebusite Town. These regions are the tribal lands of Benjamin.
   

Footnotes:

1. Joshua 16:1 it. . . then: Or " which is also called Luz, it went."
2. Joshua 16:1 Ataroth: This is the same Ataroth as Ataroth-Addar in verse 5, but a different Ataroth from the one in verses 6-8.
3. Joshua 17:1 The LORD told Moses. . . relatives: See Numbers 27.1-11; 36.1-12.
4. Joshua 17:1 the clans that were descendants of Zelophehad's five daughters. . . Hepher's brothers: Or " Zelophehad's five daughters went to the priest Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of Israel. The five sisters said, The LORD told Moses to give us land just as he gave land to our relatives. Joshua followed the LORD's instructions and gave land to these five sisters, as he had given land to Hepher's brothers."
5. Joshua 17:7 to include. . . Tappuah Spring: Hebrew; one ancient translation " to Jassiben-Tappuah" or " and turns toward Tappuah Spring."
6. Joshua 17:11 Dor. . . Naphath: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Joshua 17:14 Joseph tribes: Ephraim and the half of Manasseh that lived west of the Jordan River.
8. Joshua 17:15 Rephaim: See the note at 12.4.
9. Joshua 18:1 sacred tent: Or " meeting tent."
10. Joshua 18:3 Joseph tribes: See the note at 17.14.
11. Joshua 18:3 find out: Hebrew " cast lots to find out" (see the note at 14.1-5).
12. Joshua 18:11 Joseph tribes: See the note at 17.14.
13. Joshua 18:13 Ataroth-Orech: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Ataroth-Addar."
14. Joshua 18:15 the ruins: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
15. Joshua 18:16 Jerusalem: Hebrew " the Jebusite town."
16. Joshua 18:17 Geliloth: Probably another name for Gilgal.
17. Joshua 18:17 Monument of Bohan: See the note at 15.6.
18. Joshua 18:18 hillside north of Beth-Arabah: One ancient translation (see also the border description in 15.6); Hebrew " the northern hillside overlooking the Jordan River valley."
19. Joshua 18:19 northern. . . Dead Sea: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
20. Joshua 18:25 Kiriath-Jearim: One ancient translation; Hebrew " Kiriath."

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Luke 19:1-27 (Contemporary English Version)

Luke 19

Zacchaeus

 ¹Jesus was going through Jericho, ²where a man named Zacchaeus lived. He was in charge of collecting taxes ^[a] and was very rich. ^3-4Jesus was heading his way, and Zacchaeus wanted to see what he was like. But Zacchaeus was a short man and could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree. ⁵When Jesus got there, he looked up and said, "Zacchaeus, hurry down! I want to stay with you today." ⁶Zacchaeus hurried down and gladly welcomed Jesus.     ⁷Everyone who saw this started grumbling, "This man Zacchaeus is a sinner! And Jesus is going home to eat with him."
    ⁸Later that day Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "I will give half of my property to the poor. And I will now pay back four times as much ^[b] to everyone I have ever cheated." ⁹Jesus said to Zacchaeus, "Today you and your family have been saved, ^[c] because you are a true son of Abraham. ^{[d] 10}The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost."

A Story about Ten Servants

(Matthew 25.14-30)

 ¹¹The crowd was still listening to Jesus as he was getting close to Jerusalem. Many of them thought that God's kingdom would soon appear, ¹²and Jesus told them this story:    A prince once went to a foreign country to be crowned king and then to return. ¹³But before leaving, he called in ten servants and gave each of them some money. He told them, "Use this to earn more money until I get back."
    ¹⁴But the people of his country hated him, and they sent messengers to the foreign country to say, "We don't want this man to be our king."
    ¹⁵After the prince had been made king, he returned and called in his servants. He asked them how much they had earned with the money they had been given.
    ¹⁶The first servant came and said, "Sir, with the money you gave me I have earned ten times as much."
    ¹⁷"That's fine, my good servant!" the king said. "Since you have shown that you can be trusted with a small amount, you will be given ten cities to rule."
    ¹⁸The second one came and said, "Sir, with the money you gave me, I have earned five times as much."
    ¹⁹The king said, "You will be given five cities."
    ²⁰Another servant came and said, "Sir, here is your money. I kept it safe in a handkerchief. ²¹You are a hard man, and I was afraid of you. You take what isn't yours, and you harvest crops you didn't plant."
    ²²"You worthless servant!" the king told him. "You have condemned yourself by what you have just said. You knew that I am a hard man, taking what isn't mine and harvesting what I've not planted. ²³Why didn't you put my money in the bank? On my return, I could have had the money together with interest."
    ²⁴Then he said to some other servants standing there, "Take the money away from him and give it to the servant who earned ten times as much."
    ²⁵But they said, "Sir, he already has ten times as much!"
    ²⁶The king replied, "Those who have something will be given more. But everything will be taken away from those who don't have anything. ²⁷Now bring me the enemies who didn't want me to be their king. Kill them while I watch!"
   

Footnotes:

1. Luke 19:2 in charge of collecting taxes: See the note at 3.12.
2. Luke 19:8 pay back four times as much: Both Jewish and Roman law said that a person must pay back four times the amount that was taken.
3. Luke 19:9 saved: Zacchaeus was Jewish, but it is only now that he is rescued from sin and placed under God's care.
4. Luke 19:9 son of Abraham: As used in this verse, the words mean that Zacchaeus is truly one of God's special people.

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Psalm 87:1-7 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 87

(A psalm and a song by the people of Korah.)

The Glory of Mount Zion

 ¹Zion was built by the LORD    on the holy mountain,
    ²and he loves that city
   more than any other place
   in all of Israel.
    ³Zion, you are the city of God,
   and wonderful things
   are told about you.
    ⁴Egypt, ^[a] Babylonia, Philistia, Phoenicia, ^[b] and Ethiopia ^[c] are some of those nations
   that know you,
   and their people all say,
   "I was born in Zion."
    ⁵God Most High will strengthen
   the city of Zion.
   Then everyone will say,
   "We were born here too."
    ⁶The LORD will make a list
   of his people,
   and all who were born here
   will be included.
    ⁷All who sing or dance will say,
   "I too am from Zion."
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 87:4 Egypt: The Hebrew text has " Rahab," the name of a monster that stands for Egypt (see Isaiah 30.7).
2. Psalm 87:4 Phoenicia: See the note at 83.7.
3. Psalm 87:4 Ethiopia: See the note at 68.31.

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Proverbs 13:11 (Contemporary English Version)

¹¹Money wrongly gotten
   will disappear bit by bit;
   money earned little by little
   will grow and grow.

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Verse of the Day

“So you will be saved, if you honestly say, "Jesus is Lord," and if you believe with all your heart that God raised him from death. God will accept you and save you, if you truly believe this and tell it to others.” - Romans 10:9-10

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre, George Henry Lewes wrote, “Among the many strange servilities mistaken for pieties, one of the least lovely is that which hopes to flatter God by despising the world, and vilifying human nature.”