Bible Readings for December 12, 2015

Today our passages are Amos 7:1–9:15; Revelation 3:7-22; Psalm 131:1-3; and Proverbs 29:23. 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. 

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Amos 7-9:15 (Contemporary English Version)

Amos 7

A Vision of Locusts

 ¹The LORD God showed me that he is going to send locusts ^[a] to attack your crops. It will happen after the king has already been given his share of the grain and before the rest of the grain has been harvested. ^{[b] 2}In my vision the locusts ate every crop in the land, and I said to the LORD, "Forgive me for asking, but how can the nation survive? It's so weak." ³Then the LORD felt sorry and answered, "I won't let it be destroyed."    

A Vision of Fire

 ⁴The LORD showed me that he is going to send a ball of fire to burn up everything on earth, including the ocean. ⁵Then I said, "Won't you please stop? How can our weak nation survive?"     ⁶Again the LORD felt sorry and answered, "I won't let it be destroyed."
   

A Vision of a Measuring Line

 ⁷The LORD showed me a vision of himself standing beside a wall and holding a string with a weight tied to the end of it. The string and weight had been used to measure the straightness of the wall. ⁸Then he asked, "Amos, what do you see?"    "A measuring line," I answered.
   The LORD said, "I'm using this measuring line to show that my people Israel don't measure up, and I won't forgive them any more. ⁹Their sacred places will be destroyed, and I will send war against the nation of King Jeroboam." ^[c]

Amos and Amaziah

 ¹⁰Amaziah the priest at Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel, "Amos is plotting against you in the very heart of Israel. Our nation cannot put up with his message for very long. ¹¹Here is what he is saying:    `Jeroboam will be put to death,
   and the people will be taken
   to a foreign country.' "
    ¹²Then Amaziah told me, "Amos, take your visions and get out! Go back to Judah and earn your living there as a prophet. ¹³Don't do any more preaching at Bethel. The king worships here at our national temple."
    ¹⁴I answered:
   I'm not a prophet! And I wasn't trained to be a prophet. I am a shepherd, and I take care of fig trees. ¹⁵But the LORD told me to leave my herds and preach to the people of Israel. ¹⁶And here you are, telling me not to preach! ¹⁷Now, listen to what the LORD says about you:
   Your wife will become
   a prostitute in the city,
   your sons and daughters
   will be killed in war,
   and your land will be divided
   among others.
   You will die in a country
   of foreigners,
   and the people of Israel
   will be dragged
   from their homeland.
   

Amos 8

A Basket of Fruit

 ¹The LORD God showed me a basket of ripe fruit ²and asked, "Amos, what do you see?"    "A basket of ripe fruit," I replied.
   Then he said,
   "This is the end ^[d] for my people Israel.
   I won't forgive them again.
    ³Instead of singing
   in the temple,
   they will cry and weep.
   Dead bodies will be everywhere.
   So keep silent!
   I, the LORD, have spoken!"
   
   

Israel Is Doomed

The LORD said:

 ⁴You people crush those in need    and wipe out the poor.
    ⁵You say to yourselves,
   "How much longer before the end
   of the New Moon Festival?
   When will the Sabbath ^[e] be over? Our wheat is ready,
   and we want to sell it now.
   We can't wait to cheat
   and charge high prices
   for the grain we sell.
   We will use dishonest scales
    ⁶and mix dust in the grain.
   Those who are needy and poor
   don't have any money.
   We will make them our slaves
   for the price
   of a pair of sandals."
    ⁷I, the LORD, won't forget
   any of this,
   though you take great pride
   in your ancestor Jacob. ^{[f] 8}Your country will tremble,
   and you will mourn.
   It will be like the Nile River
   that rises and overflows,
   then sinks back down.
    ⁹On that day, I, the LORD God,
   will make the sun
   go down at noon,
   and I will turn daylight
   into darkness.
    ¹⁰Your festivals and joyful singing
   will turn into sorrow.
   You will wear sackcloth ^[g] and shave your heads,
   as you would at the death
   of your only son.
   It will be a horrible day.
    ¹¹I, the LORD, also promise you
   a terrible shortage,
   but not of food and water.
   You will hunger and thirst
   to hear my message.
    ¹²You will search everywhere--
   from north to south,
   from east to west.
   You will go all over the earth,
   seeking a message
   from me, the LORD.
   But you won't find one.
    ¹³Your beautiful young women
   and your young men
   will faint from thirst.
    ¹⁴You made promises
   in the name of Ashimah,
   the goddess of Samaria.
   And you made vows in my name
   at the shrines
   of Dan and Beersheba. ^[h] But you will fall
   and never get up.
   

Amos 9

Judgment on Israel

 ¹I saw a vision of the LORD    standing by the temple altar, ^[i] and he said,
   "Shake the columns
   until the tops fall loose,
   and the doorposts crumble.
   Then make the pieces fall
   on the people below.
   I will take a sword and kill
   anyone who escapes.
    ²"If they dig deep into the earth
   or climb to the sky,
   I'll reach out and get them.
    ³If they escape to the peaks
   of Mount Carmel,
   I'll search and find them.
   And if they hide from me
   at the bottom of the ocean,
   I'll command a sea monster
   to bite them.
    ⁴I'll send a sword to kill them,
   wherever their enemies
   drag them off as captives.
   I'm determined to hurt them,
   not to help them."
   

His Name Is the LORD

 ⁵When the LORD God All-Powerful    touches the earth,
   it melts,
   and its people mourn.
   God makes the earth rise
   and then fall,
   just like the Nile River.
    ⁶He built his palace in the heavens
   and let its foundations
   rest on the earth. ^[j] He scoops up the ocean
   and empties it on the earth.
   His name is the LORD.
   

The LORD Is God

 ⁷Israel, I am the LORD God,    and the Ethiopians ^[k] are no less important to me
   than you are.
   I brought you out of Egypt,
   but I also brought
   the Philistines from Crete ^[l] and the Arameans from Kir. ^{[m] 8}My eyes have seen
   what a sinful nation you are,
   and I'll wipe you out.
   But I will leave a few
   of Jacob's descendants.
   I, the LORD, have spoken!
    ⁹At my command, all of you
   will be sifted like grain.
   Israelites who remain faithful
   will be scattered
   among the nations.
   And the others will be trapped
   like trash in a sifter.
    ¹⁰Some of you are evil,
   and you deny
   that you will ever get caught.
   But you will be killed.
   

The LORD's Promise to Israel

 ¹¹In the future, I will rebuild    David's fallen kingdom.
   I will build it from its ruins
   and set it up again,
   just as it used to be.
    ¹²Then you will capture Edom
   and the other nations
   that are mine.
   I, the LORD, have spoken,
   and my words will come true.
    ¹³You will have such a harvest
   that you won't be able
   to bring in all of your wheat
   before plowing time.
   You will have grapes left over
   from season to season;
   your fruitful vineyards
   will cover the mountains.
    ¹⁴I'll make Israel prosper again.
   You will rebuild your towns
   and live in them.
   You will drink wine
   from your own vineyards
   and eat the fruit you grow.
    ¹⁵I'll plant your roots deep
   in the land I have given you,
   and you won't ever
   be uprooted again.
   I, the LORD God, have spoken!
   

Footnotes:

1. Amos 7:1 locusts: See the note at 4.9.
2. Amos 7:1 harvested: This would have been an especially bad time for a locust attack. The non-grain crops such as vegetables and onions were just beginning to sprout, and the grain crops were almost ready to be harvested.
3. Amos 7:9 Jeroboam: Jeroboam II, who ruled Israel 783-743 B.C.
4. Amos 8:2 end: In Hebrew "ripe fruit" and "end" sound alike.
5. Amos 8:5 New Moon Festival. . . Sabbath: Selling grain at these times was forbidden by the Law of Moses.
6. Amos 8:7 though. . . Jacob: Or "though I am the God that Jacob proudly worshiped."
7. Amos 8:10 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
8. Amos 8:14 You made. . . Beersheba: Or "You made promises to the goddess Ashimah at Samaria, and you made vows in the names of other gods at the shrines of Dan and Beersheba."
9. Amos 9:1 the temple altar: The one at Bethel.
10. Amos 9:6 He built. . . earth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
11. Amos 9:7 Ethiopians: The Hebrew text has "people of Cush," which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
12. Amos 9:7 Crete: Hebrew "Caphtor."
13. Amos 9:7 Philistines. . . Arameans from Kir: The Philistines were Israel's enemies to the west, and the Arameans were enemies to the northeast. For Kir, see the note at 1.5.

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Revelation 3:7-22 (Contemporary English Version)

The Letter to Philadelphia

 ⁷This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Philadelphia:    I am the one who is holy and true, and I have the keys that belonged to David. ^[a] When I open a door, no one can close it. And when I close a door, no one can open it. Listen to what I say. ⁸I know everything you have done. And I have placed before you an open door that no one can close. You were not very strong, but you obeyed my message and did not deny that you are my followers. ^{[b] 9}Now you will see what I will do with those people who belong to Satan's group. They claim to be Jews, but they are liars. I will make them come and kneel down at your feet. Then they will know that I love you. ¹⁰You obeyed my message and endured. So I will protect you from the time of testing that everyone in all the world must go through. ¹¹I am coming soon. So hold firmly to what you have, and no one will take away the crown that you will be given as your reward.
    ¹²Everyone who wins the victory will be made into a pillar in the temple of my God, and they will stay there forever. I will write on each of them the name of my God and the name of his city. It is the new Jerusalem that my God will send down from heaven. I will also write on them my own new name.
    ¹³If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
   

The Letter to Laodicea

 ¹⁴This is what you must write to the angel of the church in Laodicea:    I am the one called Amen! ^[c] I am the faithful and true witness and the source ^[d] of God's creation. Listen to what I say. ¹⁵I know everything you have done, and you are not cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other. ¹⁶But since you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷You claim to be rich and successful and to have everything you need. But you don't know how bad off you are. You are pitiful, poor, blind, and naked.
    ¹⁸Buy your gold from me. It has been refined in a fire, and it will make you rich. Buy white clothes from me. Wear them and you can cover up your shameful nakedness. Buy medicine for your eyes, so that you will be able to see.
    ¹⁹I correct and punish everyone I love. So make up your minds to turn away from your sins. ²⁰Listen! I am standing and knocking at your door. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and we will eat together. ²¹Everyone who wins the victory will sit with me on my throne, just as I won the victory and sat with my Father on his throne.
    ²²If you have ears, listen to what the Spirit says to the churches.
   

Footnotes:

1. Revelation 3:7 the keys that belonged to David: The keys stand for authority over David's kingdom.
2. Revelation 3:8 did not deny that you are my followers: Or "did not say evil things about me."
3. Revelation 3:14 Amen: Meaning "Trustworthy."
4. Revelation 3:14 source: Or "beginning."

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Psalm 131:1-3 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 131

(A song by David for worship.)

Trust the LORD!

 ¹I am not conceited, LORD,    and I don't waste my time
   on impossible schemes.
    ²But I have learned to feel safe
   and satisfied,
   just like a young child
   on its mother's lap.
    ³People of Israel,
   you must trust the LORD
   now and forever.

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Proverbs 29:23 (Contemporary English Version)

²³Too much pride brings disgrace;
   humility leads to honor.

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Verse of the Day

“But when the time was right, God sent his Son, and a woman gave birth to him. His Son obeyed the Law, so he could set us free from the Law, and we could become God's children.” - Galatians 4:4-5

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

French novelist who was perhaps the leading exponent of literary realism in his country, Gustave Flaubert wrote, “You can calculate the worth of a man by the number of his enemies, and the importance of a work of art by the harm that is spoken of it.”

Bible Readings for April 6, 2013

Today our passages are Deuteronomy 29:1–30:20; Luke 11:37–12:7; Psalm 78:1-31; and Proverbs 12:19-20. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

Deuteronomy 29-30:20 (Contemporary English Version)

Deuteronomy 29

The Agreement in Moab

 ¹So Moses finished telling the Israelites what they had to do in order to keep the agreement the LORD was making with them in Moab, which was in addition to the one the LORD had made with them at Mount Sinai. ^[a] The LORD Is Your God    

THE THIRD SPEECH: ISRAEL MUST KEEP ITS AGREEMENT WITH THE LORD

 ^2-3Moses called the nation of Israel together and told them:    When you were in Egypt, you saw the LORD perform great miracles that caused trouble for the king, his officials, and everyone else in the country. ^4-6He has even told you, " For forty years I, the LORD, led you through the desert, but your clothes and your sandals didn't wear out, and I gave you special food. ^[b] I did these things so you would realize that I am your God." But the LORD must give you a change of heart before you truly understand what you have seen and heard.     ⁷When we first camped here, King Sihon of Heshbon and King Og of Bashan attacked, but we defeated them. ⁸Then we captured their land and divided it among the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh.    

Keep the Agreement

Moses said:

 ⁹Israel, the LORD has made an agreement with you, and if you keep your part, you will be successful in everything you do. ^10-12Today everyone in our nation is standing here in the LORD's presence, including leaders and officials, parents and children, and even those foreigners who cut wood and carry water for us. We are at this place of worship to promise that we will keep our part of the agreement with the LORD our God.     ^13-15In this agreement, the LORD promised that you would be his people and that he would be your God. He first made this promise to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and today the LORD is making this same promise to you. But it isn't just for you; it is also for your descendants.     ^16-17When we lived in Egypt, you saw the Egyptians worship disgusting idols of wood, stone, silver, and gold. Then as we traveled through other nations, you saw those people worship other disgusting idols. ¹⁸So make sure that everyone in your tribe remains faithful to the LORD and never starts worshiping gods of other nations.    If even one of you worships idols, you will be like the root of a plant that produces bitter, poisonous fruit. ¹⁹You may be an Israelite and know all about the LORD's agreement with us, but he won't bless you if you rebel against him. You may think you can get away with it, but you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you. ^{[c] 20-21}The LORD will be furious, and instead of forgiving you, he will separate you from the other tribes. Then he will destroy you, by piling on you all the curses in The Book of God's Law, and you will be forgotten forever. ²²The LORD will strike your country with diseases and disasters. Your descendants and foreigners from distant countries will see that your land ²³has become a scorching desert of salt and sulfur, where nothing is planted, nothing sprouts, and nothing grows. It will be as lifeless as the land around the cities of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, after the LORD became angry and destroyed them. ^{[d] 24}People from other nations will ask, " Why did the LORD destroy this country? Why was he so furious?"     ²⁵And they will be given this answer:    Our ancestors worshiped the LORD, but after he brought them out of Egypt and made an agreement with them, they rejected the agreement ²⁶and decided to worship gods that had never helped them. The LORD had forbidden Israel to worship these gods, ^27-28and so he became furious and punished the land with all the curses in The Book of God's Law. Then he pulled up Israel by the roots and tossed them into a foreign country, where they still are today.     ²⁹The LORD our God hasn't explained the present or the future, but he has commanded us to obey the laws he gave to us and our descendants.    

Deuteronomy 30

The LORD Will Bring You Back

Moses said to Israel:

 ¹I have told you everything the LORD your God will do for you, and I've also told you the curses he will put on you if you reject him. He will scatter you in faraway countries, but when you realize that he is punishing you, ²return to him with all your heart and soul and start obeying the commands I have given to you today. ^3-4Then he will stop punishing you and treat you with kindness. He may have scattered you to the farthest countries on earth, but he will bring you back ⁵to the land that had belonged to your ancestors and make you even more successful and powerful than they ever were.     ⁶You and your descendants are stubborn, but the LORD will make you willing to obey him and love him with all your heart and soul, and you will enjoy a long life.     ⁷Then the LORD your God will remove the curses from you and put them on those enemies who hate and attack you.     ⁸You will again obey the laws and teachings of the LORD, ⁹and he will bless you with many children, large herds and flocks, and abundant crops. The LORD will be happy to do good things for you, just as he did for your ancestors. ¹⁰But you must decide once and for all to worship him with all your heart and soul and to obey everything in The Book of God's Law.    

Choose Life, Not Death

Moses said to Israel:

 ¹¹You know God's laws, and it isn't impossible to obey them. ¹²His commands aren't in heaven, so you can't excuse yourselves by saying, " How can we obey the LORD's commands? They are in heaven, and no one can go up to get them, then bring them down and explain them to us." ¹³And you can't say, " How can we obey the LORD's commands? They are across the sea, and someone must go across, then bring them back and explain them to us." ¹⁴No, these commands are nearby and you know them by heart. All you have to do is obey!     ¹⁵Today I am giving you a choice. You can choose life and success or death and disaster. ^16-18I am commanding you to be loyal to the LORD, to live the way he has told you, and to obey his laws and teachings. You are about to cross the Jordan River and take the land that he is giving you. If you obey him, you will live and become successful and powerful.    On the other hand, you might choose to disobey the LORD and reject him. So I'm warning you that if you bow down and worship other gods, you won't have long to live.     ¹⁹Right now I call the sky and the earth to be witnesses that I am offering you this choice. Will you choose for the LORD to make you prosperous and give you a long life? Or will he put you under a curse and kill you? Choose life! ²⁰Be completely faithful to the LORD your God, love him, and do whatever he tells you. The LORD is the only one who can give life, and he will let you live a long time in the land that he promised to your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.    Joshua Is Appointed the Leader of Israel    

Footnotes:

1. Deuteronomy 29:1 Mount Sinai: See the note at 1.1-5.
2. Deuteronomy 29:4 I gave. . . food: Hebrew " you didn't eat bread or drink any wine or beer."
3. Deuteronomy 29:19 you will cause the rest of Israel to be punished along with you: Hebrew " The mud will be swept away as well as the dust."
4. Deuteronomy 29:23 Sodom. . . destroyed them: See Genesis 18.16-28.

Luke 11:37-12:7 (Contemporary English Version)

Jesus Condemns the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law of Moses

(Matthew 23.1-36; Mark 12.38-40; Luke 20.45-47)

 ³⁷When Jesus finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him home for a meal. Jesus went and sat down to eat. ^{[a] 38}The Pharisee was surprised that he did not wash his hands ^[b] before eating. ³⁹So the Lord said to him: You Pharisees clean the outside of cups and dishes, but on the inside you are greedy and evil. ⁴⁰You fools! Didn't God make both the outside and the inside? ^{[c] 41}If you would only give what you have to the poor, everything you do would please God. ⁴²You Pharisees are in for trouble! You give God a tenth of the spices from your gardens, such as mint and rue. But you cheat people, and you don't love God. You should be fair and kind to others and still give a tenth to God.     ⁴³You Pharisees are in for trouble! You love the front seats in the meeting places, and you like to be greeted with honor in the market. ⁴⁴But you are in for trouble! You are like unmarked graves ^[d] that people walk on without even knowing it. ⁴⁵A teacher of the Law of Moses spoke up, "Teacher, you said cruel things about us."     ⁴⁶Jesus replied:    You teachers are also in for trouble! You load people down with heavy burdens, but you won't lift a finger to help them carry the loads. ⁴⁷Yes, you are really in for trouble. You build monuments to honor the prophets your own people murdered long ago. ⁴⁸You must think that was the right thing for your people to do, or else you would not have built monuments for the prophets they murdered.     ⁴⁹Because of your evil deeds, the Wisdom of God said, "I will send prophets and apostles to you. But you will murder some and mistreat others." ⁵⁰You people living today will be punished for all the prophets who have been murdered since the beginning of the world. ⁵¹This includes every prophet from the time of Abel to the time of Zechariah, ^[e] who was murdered between the altar and the temple. You people will certainly be punished for all of this. ⁵²You teachers of the Law of Moses are really in for trouble! You carry the keys to the door of knowledge about God. But you never go in, and you keep others from going in.     ⁵³Jesus was about to leave, but the teachers and the Pharisees wanted to get even with him. They tried to make him say what he thought about other things, ⁵⁴so that they could catch him saying something wrong.    

Luke 12

Warnings

 ¹As thousands of people crowded around Jesus and were stepping on each other, he told his disciples:    Be sure to guard against the dishonest teaching ^[f] of the Pharisees! It is their way of fooling people. ²Everything that is hidden will be found out, and every secret will be known. ³Whatever you say in the dark will be heard when it is day. Whatever you whisper in a closed room will be shouted from the housetops.

The One To Fear

(Matthew 10.28-31)

 ⁴My friends, don't be afraid of people. They can kill you, but after that, there is nothing else they can do. ⁵God is the one you must fear. Not only can he take your life, but he can throw you into hell. God is certainly the one you should fear!     ⁶Five sparrows are sold for just two pennies, but God doesn't forget a one of them. ⁷Even the hairs on your head are counted. So don't be afraid! You are worth much more than many sparrows.    

Footnotes:

1. Luke 11:37 sat down to eat: See the note at 7.36.
2. Luke 11:38 did not wash his hands: The Jewish people had strict laws about washing their hands before eating, especially if they had been out in public.
3. Luke 11:40 Didn't God make both the outside and the inside: Or " Doesn't the person who washes the outside always wash the inside too?"
4. Luke 11:44 unmarked graves: Tombs were whitewashed to keep anyone from accidentally touching them. A person who touched a dead body or a tomb was considered unclean and could not worship with other Jewish people.
5. Luke 11:51 from the time of Abel. . . Zechariah: Genesis is the first book in the Jewish Scriptures, and it tells that Abel was the first person to be murdered. Second Chronicles is the last book in the Jewish Scriptures, and the last murder that it tells about is that of Zechariah.
6. Luke 12:1 dishonest teaching: The Greek text has " yeast," which is used here of a teaching that is not true (see Matthew 16.6,12).

Psalm 78:1-31 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 78

(A special psalm by Asaph.)

What God Has Done for His People

 ¹My friends, I beg you    to listen as I teach.     ²I will give instruction    and explain the mystery    of what happened long ago.     ³These are things we learned    from our ancestors,     ⁴and we will tell them    to the next generation.    We won't keep secret    the glorious deeds    and the mighty miracles    of the LORD.     ⁵God gave his Law    to Jacob's descendants,    the people of Israel.    And he told our ancestors    to teach their children,     ⁶so that each new generation    would know his Law    and tell it to the next.     ⁷Then they would trust God    and obey his teachings,    without forgetting anything    God had done.     ⁸They would be different    from their ancestors,    who were stubborn, rebellious,    and unfaithful to God.     ⁹The warriors from Ephraim    were armed with arrows,    but they ran away    when the battle began.     ¹⁰They broke their agreement    with God,    and they turned their backs    on his teaching.     ¹¹They forgot all he had done,    even the mighty miracles     ¹²he did for their ancestors    near Zoan ^[a] in Egypt. ¹³God made a path in the sea    and piled up the water    as he led them across.     ¹⁴He guided them during the day    with a cloud,    and each night he led them    with a flaming fire.     ¹⁵God made water flow    from rocks    he split open    in the desert,    and his people drank freely,    as though from a lake.     ¹⁶He made streams gush out    like rivers from rocks.     ¹⁷But in the desert,    the people of God Most High    kept sinning and rebelling.     ¹⁸They stubbornly tested God    and demanded from him    what they wanted to eat.     ¹⁹They challenged God by saying,    "Can God provide food    out here in the desert?     ²⁰It's true God struck the rock    and water gushed out    like a river,    but can he give his people    bread and meat?"     ²¹When the LORD heard this,    he was angry and furious    with Jacob's descendants,    the people of Israel.     ²²They had refused to trust him,    and they had doubted    his saving power.     ²³But God gave a command    to the clouds,    and he opened the doors    in the skies.     ²⁴From heaven he sent grain    that they called manna. ^{[b] 25}He gave them more than enough,    and each one of them ate    this special food.     ²⁶God's mighty power    brought a strong wind    from the southeast,     ²⁷and it brought birds    that covered the ground,    like sand on the beach.     ²⁸Then God made the birds fall    in the camp of his people    near their tents.     ²⁹God gave his people    all they wanted,    and each of them ate    until they were full.     ³⁰But before they had swallowed    the last bite,     ³¹God became angry and killed    the strongest    and best    from the families of Israel.    

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 78:12 Zoan: A city in the eastern part of the Nile Delta.
2. Psalm 78:24 manna: When the people of Israel were wandering through the desert, the Lord gave them a special kind of food to eat. It tasted like a wafer and was called " manna," which in Hebrew means, " What is this?"

Proverbs 12:19-20 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁹Truth will last forever;    lies are soon found out.     ²⁰An evil mind is deceitful,    but gentle thoughts    bring happiness.

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Verse of the Day

“We know what love is because Jesus gave his life for us. That's why we must give our lives for each other.” - 1 John 3:16

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

French writer Gustave Flaubert wrote, “Love is a springtime plant that perfumes everything with its hope, even the ruins to which it clings.”