Bible Readings for April 9, 2016

Today our passages are Deuteronomy 33:1-29; Luke 13:1-21; Psalm 78:65-72; and Proverbs 12:25. The readings are from The Message by Eugene H. Peterson. 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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Deuteronomy 33:1-29 (The Message)

Deuteronomy 33

The Blessing

^1-5 Moses, man of God, blessed the People of Israel with this blessing before his death. He said,
God came down from Sinai,
he dawned from Seir upon them;
He radiated light from Mount Paran,
coming with ten thousand holy angels
And tongues of fire
streaming from his right hand.
Oh, how you love the people,
all his holy ones are palmed in your left hand.
They sit at your feet,
honoring your teaching,
The Revelation commanded by Moses,
as the assembly of Jacob's inheritance.
Thus God became king in Jeshurun
as the leaders and tribes of Israel gathered. ⁶ Reuben:
"Let Reuben live and not die,
but just barely, in diminishing numbers."
⁷ Judah:
"Listen, God, to the Voice of Judah,
bring him to his people;
Strengthen his grip,
be his helper against his foes."
^8-11 Levi:
"Let your Thummim and Urim
belong to your loyal saint;
The one you tested at Massah,
whom you fought with at the Waters of Meribah,
Who said of his father and mother,
'I no longer recognize them.'
He turned his back on his brothers
and neglected his children,
Because he was guarding your sayings
and watching over your Covenant.
Let him teach your rules to Jacob
and your Revelation to Israel,
Let him keep the incense rising to your nostrils
and the Whole-Burnt-Offerings on your Altar.
God bless his commitment,
stamp your seal of approval on what he does;
Disable the loins of those who defy him,
make sure we've heard the last from those who hate him."
¹² Benjamin:
"God's beloved;
God's permanent residence.
Encircled by God all day long,
within whom God is at home."
^13-17 Joseph:
"Blessed by God be his land:
The best fresh dew from high heaven,
and fountains springing from the depths;
The best radiance streaming from the sun
and the best the moon has to offer;
Beauty pouring off the tops of the mountains
and the best from the everlasting hills;
The best of Earth's exuberant gifts,
the smile of the Burning-Bush Dweller.
All this on the head of Joseph,
on the brow of the consecrated one among his brothers.
In splendor he's like a firstborn bull,
his horns the horns of a wild ox;
He'll gore the nations with those horns,
push them all to the ends of the Earth.
Ephraim by the ten thousands will do this,
Manasseh by the thousands will do this."
^18-19 Zebulun and Issachar:
"Celebrate, Zebulun, as you go out,
and Issachar, as you stay home.
They'll invite people to the Mountain
and offer sacrifices of right worship,
For they will have hauled riches in from the sea
and gleaned treasures from the beaches."
^20-21 Gad:
"Blessed is he who makes Gad large.
Gad roams like a lion,
tears off an arm, rips open a skull.
He took one look and grabbed the best place for himself,
the portion just made for someone in charge.
He took his place at the head,
carried out God's right ways
and his rules for life in Israel."
²² Dan:
"Dan is a lion's cub
leaping out of Bashan."
²³ Naphtali:
"Naphtali brims with blessings,
spills over with God's blessings
As he takes possession
of the sea and southland."
^24-25 Asher:
"Asher, best blessed of the sons!
May he be the favorite of his brothers,
his feet massaged in oil.
Safe behind iron-clad doors and gates,
your strength like iron as long as you live."
^26-28 There is none like God, Jeshurun,
riding to your rescue through the skies,
his dignity haloed by clouds.
The ancient God is home
on a foundation of everlasting arms.
He drove out the enemy before you
and commanded, "Destroy!"
Israel lived securely,
the fountain of Jacob undisturbed
In grain and wine country
and, oh yes, his heavens drip dew.
²⁹ Lucky Israel! Who has it as good as you?
A people saved by God!
The Shield who defends you,
the Sword who brings triumph.
Your enemies will come crawling on their bellies
and you'll march on their backs.

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Luke 13:1-21 (The Message)

Luke 13

Unless You Turn to God

^1-5About that time some people came up and told him about the Galileans Pilate had killed while they were at worship, mixing their blood with the blood of the sacrifices on the altar. Jesus responded, "Do you think those murdered Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die. And those eighteen in Jerusalem the other day, the ones crushed and killed when the Tower of Siloam collapsed and fell on them, do you think they were worse citizens than all other Jerusalemites? Not at all. Unless you turn to God, you, too, will die."

^6-7Then he told them a story: "A man had an apple tree planted in his front yard. He came to it expecting to find apples, but there weren't any. He said to his gardener, 'What's going on here? For three years now I've come to this tree expecting apples and not one apple have I found. Chop it down! Why waste good ground with it any longer?'

^8-9"The gardener said, 'Let's give it another year. I'll dig around it and fertilize, and maybe it will produce next year; if it doesn't, then chop it down.'"

Healing on the Sabbath

^10-13He was teaching in one of the meeting places on the Sabbath. There was a woman present, so twisted and bent over with arthritis that she couldn't even look up. She had been afflicted with this for eighteen years. When Jesus saw her, he called her over. "Woman, you're free!" He laid hands on her and suddenly she was standing straight and tall, giving glory to God.

¹⁴The meeting-place president, furious because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the congregation, "Six days have been defined as work days. Come on one of the six if you want to be healed, but not on the seventh, the Sabbath."

^15-16But Jesus shot back, "You frauds! Each Sabbath every one of you regularly unties your cow or donkey from its stall, leads it out for water, and thinks nothing of it. So why isn't it all right for me to untie this daughter of Abraham and lead her from the stall where Satan has had her tied these eighteen years?"

¹⁷When he put it that way, his critics were left looking quite silly and redfaced. The congregation was delighted and cheered him on.

The Way to God

^18-19Then he said, "How can I picture God's kingdom for you? What kind of story can I use? It's like a pine nut that a man plants in his front yard. It grows into a huge pine tree with thick branches, and eagles build nests in it."

^20-21He tried again. "How can I picture God's kingdom? It's like yeast that a woman works into enough dough for three loaves of bread—and waits while the dough rises."

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Psalm 78:65-72 (The Message)

^65-72 Suddenly the Lord was up on his feet
like someone roused from deep sleep,
shouting like a drunken warrior.
He hit his enemies hard, sent them running,
yelping, not daring to look back.
He disqualified Joseph as leader,
told Ephraim he didn't have what it takes,
And chose the Tribe of Judah instead,
Mount Zion, which he loves so much.
He built his sanctuary there, resplendent,
solid and lasting as the earth itself.
Then he chose David, his servant,
handpicked him from his work in the sheep pens.
One day he was caring for the ewes and their lambs,
the next day God had him shepherding Jacob,
his people Israel, his prize possession.
His good heart made him a good shepherd;
he guided the people wisely and well.

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Proverbs 12:25 (The Message)

²⁵ Worry weighs us down;
a cheerful word picks us up.

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Verse of the Day

“God's Son has all the brightness of God's own glory and is like him in every way. By his own mighty word, he holds the universe together. After the Son had washed away our sins, he sat down at the right side of the glorious God in heaven.” - Hebrews 1:3

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

American poet, memoirist, and civil rights activist, Maya Angelou wrote, “If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.”

Bible Readings for September 1, 2015

Today our passages are Job 40:1–42:17; 2 Corinthians 5:11-21; Psalm 45:1-17; and Proverbs 22:14. 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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Job 40-42:17 (Contemporary English Version)

Job 40

The LORD Continues

I Am the LORD All-Powerful

 ¹I am the LORD All-Powerful,     ²but you have argued
   that I am wrong.
   Now you must answer me.
    ³Job said to the LORD:
    ⁴Who am I to answer you?
    ⁵I did speak once or twice,
   but never again.
    ⁶Then out of the storm
   the LORD said to Job:
    ⁷Face me and answer
   the questions I ask!
    ⁸Are you trying to prove
   that you are innocent
   by accusing me of injustice?
    ⁹Do you have a powerful arm
   and a thundering voice
   that compare with mine?
    ¹⁰If so, then surround yourself
   with glory and majesty.
    ¹¹Show your furious anger!
   Throw down and crush
    ¹²all who are proud and evil.
    ¹³Wrap them in grave clothes
   and bury them together
   in the dusty soil.
    ¹⁴Do this, and I will agree
   that you have won
   this argument.
   

I Created You

 ¹⁵I created both you    and the hippopotamus. ^[a] It eats only grass like an ox,
    ¹⁶but look at the mighty muscles
   in its body ¹⁷and legs.
   Its tail is like a cedar tree,
   and its thighs are thick.
    ¹⁸The bones in its legs
   are like bronze or iron.
    ¹⁹I made it more powerful
   than any other creature,
   yet I am stronger still.
    ²⁰Undisturbed, it eats grass
   while the other animals
   play nearby. ^{[b] 21}It rests in the shade of trees
   along the riverbank
    ²²or hides among reeds
   in the swamp.
    ²³It remains calm and unafraid
   with the Jordan River rushing
   and splashing in its face.
    ²⁴There is no way to capture
   a hippopotamus--
   not even by hooking its nose
   or blinding its eyes.
   

Job 41

The LORD Continues

Can You Catch a Sea Monster?

 ¹Can you catch a sea monster ^[c] by using a fishhook?    Can you tie its mouth shut
   with a rope?
    ²Can it be led around
   by a ring in its nose
   or a hook in its jaw?
    ³Will it beg for mercy?
    ⁴Will it surrender
   as a slave for life?
    ⁵Can it be tied by the leg
   like a pet bird
   for little girls?
    ⁶Is it ever chopped up
   and its pieces bargained for
   in the fish-market?
    ⁷Can it be killed
   with harpoons or spears?
    ⁸Wrestle it just once--
   that will be the end.
    ⁹Merely a glimpse of this monster
   makes all courage melt.
    ¹⁰And if it is too fierce
   for anyone to attack,
   who would dare oppose me?
    ¹¹I am in command of the world
   and in debt to no one.
    ¹²What powerful legs,
   what a stout body
   this monster possesses!
    ¹³Who could strip off its armor
   or bring it under control
   with a harness?
    ¹⁴Who would try to open its jaws,
   full of fearsome teeth?
    ¹⁵Its back ^[d] is covered with shield after shield,
    ¹⁶firmly bound and closer together
    ¹⁷than breath to breath.
   

When This Monster Sneezes

 ¹⁸When this monster sneezes,    lightning flashes,
   and its eyes
   glow like the dawn.
    ¹⁹Sparks and fiery flames
   explode from its mouth.
    ²⁰And smoke spews from its nose
   like steam
   from a boiling pot,
    ²¹while its blazing breath
   scorches everything in sight.
    ²²Its neck is so tremendous
   that everyone trembles,
    ²³the weakest parts of its body
   are harder than iron,
    ²⁴and its heart is stone.
    ²⁵When this noisy monster appears,
   even the most powerful ^[e] turn and run in fear.
    ²⁶No sword or spear can harm it,
    ²⁷and weapons of bronze or iron
   are as useless
   as straw
   or rotten wood.
    ²⁸Rocks thrown from a sling
   cause it no more harm
   than husks of grain.
   This monster fears no arrows,
    ²⁹it simply smiles at spears,
   and striking it with a stick
   is like slapping it with straw.
    ³⁰As it crawls through the mud,
   its sharp and spiny hide
   tears the ground apart.
    ³¹And when it swims down deep,
   the sea starts churning
   like boiling oil,
    ³²and it leaves behind a trail
   of shining white foam.
    ³³No other creature on earth
   is so fearless.
    ³⁴It is king of all proud creatures,
   and it looks upon the others
   as nothing.
   

Job 42

Job's Reply to the LORD

No One Can Oppose You

 ¹Job said:     ²No one can oppose you,
   because you have the power
   to do what you want.
    ³You asked why I talk so much
   when I know so little.
   I have talked about things
   that are far beyond
   my understanding.
    ⁴You told me to listen
   and answer your questions. ^{[f] 5}I heard about you from others;
   now I have seen you
   with my own eyes.
    ⁶That's why I hate myself
   and sit here in dust and ashes
   to show my sorrow.
   

The LORD Corrects Job's Friends

 ⁷The LORD said to Eliphaz:    What my servant Job has said about me is true, but I am angry at you and your two friends for not telling the truth. ⁸So I want you to go over to Job and offer seven bulls and seven goats on an altar as a sacrifice to please me. ^[g] After this, Job will pray, and I will agree not to punish you for your foolishness. ⁹Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar obeyed the LORD, and he answered Job's prayer.
   

A Happy Ending

 ¹⁰After Job had prayed for his three friends, the LORD made Job twice as rich as he had been before. ¹¹Then Job gave a feast for his brothers and sisters and for his old friends. They expressed their sorrow for the suffering the LORD had brought on him, and they each gave Job some silver and a gold ring.     ¹²The LORD now blessed Job more than ever; he gave him fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, a thousand pair of oxen, and a thousand donkeys.
    ¹³In addition to seven sons, Job had three daughters, ¹⁴whose names were Jemimah, Keziah, and Keren Happuch. ¹⁵They were the most beautiful women in that part of the world, and Job gave them shares of his property, along with their brothers.
    ¹⁶Job lived for another one hundred forty years--long enough to see his great-grandchildren have children of their own-- ¹⁷and when he finally died, he was very old.
   

Footnotes:

1. Job 40:15 the hippopotamus: The Hebrew text has "Behemoth," which was sometimes understood to be a sea monster like Rahab (9.13; 26.12), Leviathan (3.8; 41.1), and Tannin (7.12).
2. Job 40:20 nearby: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 20.
3. Job 41:1 sea monster: The Hebrew text has "Leviathan," which may refer to a sea monster or possibly to a crocodile in this verse (see the note at 3.8).
4. Job 41:15 back: Two ancient translations; Hebrew "pride."
5. Job 41:25 most powerful: Or "gods."
6. Job 42:4 questions: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 4.
7. Job 42:8 sacrifice to please me: These sacrifices have traditionally been called "whole burnt offerings" because the whole animal was burned on the altar. A main purpose of such sacrifices was to please the LORD with the smell of the sacrifice, and so in the CEV they are often called "sacrifices to please the LORD."

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2 Corinthians 5:11-21 (Contemporary English Version)

Bringing People to God

 ¹¹We know what it means to respect the Lord, and we encourage everyone to turn to him. God himself knows what we are like, and I hope you also know what kind of people we are. ¹²We are not trying once more to brag about ourselves. But we want you to be proud of us, when you are with those who are not sincere and brag about what others think of them.     ¹³If we seem out of our minds, it is between God and us. But if we are in our right minds, it is for your good. ¹⁴We are ruled by Christ's love for us. We are certain that if one person died for everyone else, then all of us have died. ¹⁵And Christ did die for all of us. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves, but for the one who died and was raised to life for us.
    ¹⁶We are careful not to judge people by what they seem to be, though we once judged Christ in that way. ¹⁷Anyone who belongs to Christ is a new person. The past is forgotten, and everything is new. ¹⁸God has done it all! He sent Christ to make peace between himself and us, and he has given us the work of making peace between himself and others.
    ¹⁹What we mean is that God was in Christ, offering peace and forgiveness to the people of this world. And he has given us the work of sharing his message about peace. ²⁰We were sent to speak for Christ, and God is begging you to listen to our message. We speak for Christ and sincerely ask you to make peace with God. ²¹Christ never sinned! But God treated him as a sinner, so that Christ could make us acceptable to God.

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Psalm 45:1-17 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 45

(A special psalm for the people of Korah and for the music leader. To the tune "Lilies." A love song.)

For a Royal Wedding

 ¹My thoughts are filled    with beautiful words
   for the king,
   and I will use my voice
   as a writer would use
   pen and ink.
    ²No one is as handsome as you!
   Your words are always kind.
   That is why God
   will always bless you.
    ³Mighty king, glorious ruler,
   strap on your sword
    ⁴and ride out in splendor!
   Win victories for truth
   and mercy and justice.
   Do fearsome things
   with your powerful arm.
    ⁵Send your sharp arrows
   through enemy hearts
   and make all nations fall
   at your feet.
    ⁶You are God, and you will rule
   forever as king. ^[a] Your royal power
   brings about justice.
    ⁷You love justice and hate evil.
   And so, your God chose you
   and made you happier
   than any of your friends.
    ⁸The sweet aroma of the spices
   myrrh, aloes, and cassia,
   covers your royal robes.
   You enjoy the music of harps
   in palaces decorated
   with ivory.
    ⁹Daughters of kings are here,
   and your bride stands
   at your right side,
   wearing a wedding gown
   trimmed with pure gold. ^{[b] 10}Bride of the king,
   listen carefully to me.
   Forget your own people
   and your father's family.
    ¹¹The king is your husband,
   so do what he desires.
    ¹²All of the richest people
   from the city of Tyre
   will try to influence you
    ¹³with precious treasures.
   Your bride, my king,
   has inward beauty, ^[c] and her wedding gown is woven
   with threads of gold.
    ¹⁴Wearing the finest garments,
   she is brought to you,
   followed by her young friends,
   the bridesmaids.
    ¹⁵Everyone is excited,
   as they follow you
   to the royal palace.
    ¹⁶Your sons and your grandsons
   will also be kings
   as your ancestors were.
   You will make them the rulers
   everywhere on earth.
    ¹⁷I will make your name famous
   from now on,
   and you will be praised
   forever and ever.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 45:6 You. . . king: Or " God has made you king, and you will rule forever."
2. Psalm 45:9 trimmed with pure gold: Hebrew has " with gold from Ophir," which may have been in Africa or India. Gold from there was considered the very best.
3. Psalm 45:13 has inward beauty: Or " is dressed in her room."

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Proverbs 22:14 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁴The words of a bad woman
   are like a deep pit;
   if you make the LORD angry,
   you will fall right in.

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Verse of the Day

“Teach your children right from wrong, and when they are grown they will still do right.” - Proverbs 22:6

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

American author, poet, dancer, actress, and singer, Maya Angelou wrote, “It's one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive. Forgive everybody.”

Bible Readings for May 2, 2015

Today our passages are Judges 15:1–16:31; John 2:1-25; Psalm 103:1-22; and Proverbs 14:17-19. The readings are the Contemporary English Version. 

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Judges 15-16:31 (Contemporary English Version)

Judges 15

 ¹Later, during the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit the young woman he thought was still his wife. ^[a] He brought along a young goat as a gift and said to her father, " I want to go into my wife's bedroom." " You can't do that," he replied.     ²" When you left the way you did, I thought you were divorcing ^[b] her. So I arranged for her to marry one of the young men who were at your party. But my younger daughter is even prettier, and you can have her as your wife."
    ³" This time," Samson answered, " I have a good reason for really hurting some Philistines."

Samson Takes Revenge

 ⁴Samson went out and caught three hundred foxes and tied them together in pairs with oil-soaked rags around their tails.     ⁵Then Samson took the foxes into the Philistine wheat fields that were ready to be harvested. He set the rags on fire and let the foxes go. The wheat fields went up in flames, and so did the stacks of wheat that had already been cut. Even the Philistine vineyards and olive orchards burned.
    ⁶Some of the Philistines started asking around, " Who could have done such a thing?"
   "It was Samson," someone told them. "He married the daughter of that man in Timnah, but then the man gave Samson's wife to one of the men at the wedding."
   The Philistine leaders went to Timnah and burned to death Samson's wife and her father. ^[c]
    ⁷When Samson found out what they had done, he went to them and said, " You killed them! And I won't rest until I get even with you."
    ⁸Then Samson started hacking them to pieces with his sword. ^[d] Samson left Philistia and went to live in the cave at Etam Rock.
    ⁹But it wasn't long before the Philistines invaded Judah ^[e] and set up a huge army camp at Jawbone. ^[f]
    ¹⁰The people of Judah asked, " Why have you invaded our land?"
   The Philistines answered, " We've come to get Samson. We're going to do the same things to him that he did to our people."
    ¹¹Three thousand men from Judah went to the cave at Etam Rock and said to Samson, " Don't you know that the Philistines rule us, and they will punish us for what you did?"
   " I was only getting even with them," Samson replied. " They did the same things to me first."
    ¹²" We came here to tie you up and turn you over to them," said the men of Judah.
   " I won't put up a fight," Samson answered, " but you have to promise not to hurt me yourselves."
    ^13-14" We promise," the men said. " We will only tie you up and turn you over to the Philistines. We won't kill you." Then they tied up his hands and arms with two brand-new ropes and led him away from Etam Rock.
   When the Philistines saw that Samson was being brought to their camp at Jawbone, they started shouting and ran toward him. But the LORD's Spirit took control of Samson, and Samson broke the ropes, as though they were pieces of burnt cloth.
    ¹⁵Samson glanced around and spotted the jawbone of a donkey. The jawbone had not yet dried out, so it was still hard and heavy. Samson grabbed it and started hitting Philistines--he killed a thousand of them!
    ¹⁶After the fighting was over, he made up this poem about what he had done to the Philistines:
   I used a donkey's jawbone
   to kill a thousand men;
   I beat them with this jawbone
   over and over again. ^[g]
    ¹⁷Samson tossed the jawbone on the ground and decided to call the place Jawbone Hill. ^[h] It is still called that today.
    ¹⁸Samson was so thirsty that he prayed, " Our LORD, you helped me win a battle against a whole army. Please don't let me die of thirst now. Those heathen Philistines will carry off my dead body."
    ¹⁹Samson was tired and weary, but God sent water gushing from a rock. ^[i] Samson drank some and felt strong again. Samson named the place Caller Spring, ^[j] because he had called out to God for help. The spring is still there at Jawbone.
    ²⁰Samson was a leader ^[k] of Israel for twenty years, but the Philistines were still the rulers of Israel.
   

Judges 16

Samson Carries Off the Gates of Gaza

 ¹One day while Samson was in Gaza, he saw a prostitute and went to her house to spend the night.     ²The people who lived in Gaza found out he was there, and they decided to kill him at sunrise. So they went to the city gate and waited all night in the guardrooms on each side of the gate. ^[l]
    ³But Samson got up in the middle of the night and went to the town gate. He pulled the gate doors and doorposts out of the wall and put them on his shoulders. Then he carried them all the way to the top of the hill that overlooks Hebron, ^[m] where he set the doors down, still closed and locked.
   

Delilah Tricks Samson

 ⁴Some time later, Samson fell in love with a woman named Delilah, who lived in Sorek Valley.     ⁵The Philistine rulers ^[n] went to Delilah and said, " Trick Samson into telling you what makes him so strong and what can make him weak. Then we can tie him up so he can't get away. If you find out his secret, we will each give you eleven hundred pieces of silver." ^[o]
    ⁶The next time Samson was at Delilah's house, she asked, " Samson, what makes you so strong? How can I tie you up so you can't get away? Come on, you can tell me."
    ⁷Samson answered, " If someone ties me up with seven new bowstrings that have never been dried, ^[p] it will make me just as weak as anyone else."
    ^8-9The Philistine rulers gave seven new bowstrings to Delilah. They also told some of their soldiers to go to Delilah's house and hide in the room where Samson and Delilah were. If the bowstrings made Samson weak, they would be able to capture him.
   Delilah tied up Samson with the bowstrings and shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking!"
   Samson snapped the bowstrings, as though they were pieces of scorched string. The Philistines had not found out why Samson was so strong.
    ¹⁰" You lied and made me look like a fool," Delilah said. " Now tell me. How can I really tie you up?"
    ¹¹Samson answered, " Use some new ropes. If I'm tied up with ropes that have never been used, I'll be just as weak as anyone else."
    ¹²Delilah got new ropes and again had some Philistines hide in the room. Then she tied up Samson's arms and shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking!"
   Samson snapped the ropes as if they were threads.
    ¹³" You're still lying and making a fool of me," Delilah said. " Tell me how I can tie you up!"
   " My hair is in seven braids," Samson replied. " If you weave my braids into the threads on a loom and nail the loom ^[q] to a wall, then I will be as weak as anyone else."
    ¹⁴While Samson was asleep, Delilah wove his braids into the threads on a loom and nailed the loom to a wall. ^[r] Then she shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking !" Samson woke up and pulled the loom free from its posts in the ground and from the nails in the wall. Then he pulled his hair free from the woven cloth.
    ¹⁵" Samson," Delilah said, " you claim to love me, but you don't mean it! You've made me look like a fool three times now, and you still haven't told me why you are so strong."
    ¹⁶Delilah started nagging and pestering him day after day, until he couldn't stand it any longer.
    ¹⁷Finally, Samson told her the truth. " I have belonged to God ^[s] ever since I was born, so my hair has never been cut. If it were ever cut off, my strength would leave me, and I would be as weak as anyone else."
    ¹⁸Delilah realized that he was telling the truth. So she sent someone to tell the Philistine rulers, " Come to my house one more time. Samson has finally told me the truth."
   The Philistine rulers went to Delilah's house, and they brought along the silver they had promised her.
    ¹⁹Delilah had lulled Samson to sleep with his head resting in her lap. She signaled to one of the Philistine men as she began cutting off Samson's seven braids. And by the time she was finished, Samson's strength was gone. Delilah tied him up
    ²⁰and shouted, " Samson, the Philistines are attacking!"
   Samson woke up and thought, " I'll break loose and escape, just as I always do." He did not realize that the LORD had stopped helping him.
    ²¹The Philistines grabbed Samson and poked out his eyes. They took him to the prison in Gaza and chained him up. Then they put him to work, turning a millstone to grind grain.
    ²²But they didn't cut his hair any more, so it started growing back.
    ²³The Philistine rulers threw a big party and sacrificed a lot of animals to their god Dagon. The rulers said:
   Samson was our enemy,
   but our god Dagon
   helped us capture him!
    ^24-25Everyone there was having a good time, and they shouted, " Bring out Samson--he's still good for a few more laughs!"
   The rulers had Samson brought from the prison, and when the people saw him, this is how they praised their god:
   Samson ruined our crops
   and killed our people.
   He was our enemy,
   but our god
   helped us
   capture him.
   They made fun of Samson for a while, then they told him to stand near the columns that supported the roof.
    ²⁶A young man was leading Samson by the hand, and Samson said to him, " I need to lean against something. Take me over to the columns that hold up the roof."
    ²⁷The Philistine rulers were celebrating in a temple packed with people and with three thousand ^[t] more on the flat roof. They had all been watching Samson and making fun of him. ^[u]
    ²⁸Samson prayed, " Please remember me, LORD God. The Philistines poked out my eyes, but make me strong one last time, so I can take revenge for at least one of my eyes!" ^[v]
    ²⁹Samson was standing between the two middle columns that held up the roof. He felt around and found one column with his right hand, and the other with his left hand.
    ³⁰Then he shouted, " Let me die with the Philistines!" He pushed against the columns as hard as he could, and the temple collapsed with the Philistine rulers and everyone else still inside. Samson killed more Philistines when he died than he had killed during his entire life.
    ³¹His brothers and the rest of his family went to Gaza and took his body back home. They buried him in his father's tomb, ^[w] which was located between Zorah and Eshtaol. Samson was a leader ^[x] of Israel for twenty years.
   

Footnotes:

1. Judges 15:1 Samson went to visit. . . his wife: See the note at 8.31.
2. Judges 15:2 divorcing: It was often very easy for a husband to divorce his wife.
3. Judges 15:6 and her father: Most Hebrew manuscripts; many Hebrew manuscripts and two ancient translations " and her family."
4. Judges 15:8 hacking. . . sword: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
5. Judges 15:9 Judah: Samson belonged to the Dan tribe, but his hideout in the cave at Etam Rock was in Judah, a few miles southwest of Bethlehem.
6. Judges 15:9 Jawbone: Or " Lehi" (see verse 17).
7. Judges 15:16 I beat. . . again: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
8. Judges 15:17 Jawbone Hill: Or " Ramath-Lehi."
9. Judges 15:19 God sent. . a rock: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
10. Judges 15:19 Caller Spring: Or " Enhakkore."
11. Judges 15:20 leader: See 2.16 and the note there.
12. Judges 16:2 guardrooms. . . gate: The gate was often in a part of the town wall that was thicker and taller than the rest of the wall, and that had rooms where guards stayed when they were on duty.
13. Judges 16:3 Hebron: About forty miles from Gaza.
14. Judges 16:5 Philistine rulers: There were five rulers, each one controlling part of Philistia.
15. Judges 16:5 silver: About 140 pounds of silver altogether.
16. Judges 16:7 new bowstrings. . . dried: The string for a bow was often made from sinews or internal organs of animals. These strings were made while the animal tissues were still moist, and they became much stronger, once they were dry.
17. Judges 16:13 loom: A large wooden frame on which cloth is woven.
18. Judges 16:14 If you weave. . . to a wall: Some manuscripts of one ancient translation; Hebrew " Weave my braids into the threads on a loom. She nailed the loom to a wall."
19. Judges 16:17 belonged to God: See the note at 13.3-5.
20. Judges 16:27 three thousand: Hebrew; some manuscripts of one ancient translation " seven hundred."
21. Judges 16:27 They. . . him: Samson may have been in a courtyard visible from the roof.
22. Judges 16:28 one of my eyes: Or " my eyes."
23. Judges 16:31 buried him in his father's tomb: Several family members were often buried in one tomb.
24. Judges 16:31 leader: See 2.16 and the note there.

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John 2:1-25 (Contemporary English Version)

John 2

Jesus at a Wedding in Cana

 ¹Three days later Mary, the mother of Jesus, was at a wedding feast in the village of Cana in Galilee. ²Jesus and his disciples had also been invited and were there.     ³When the wine was all gone, Mary said to Jesus, "They don't have any more wine."
    ⁴Jesus replied, "Mother, my time hasn't yet come: ^[a] You must not tell me what to do." ⁵Mary then said to the servants, "Do whatever Jesus tells you to do."
    ⁶At the feast there were six stone water jars that were used by the people for washing themselves in the way that their religion said they must. Each jar held about twenty or thirty gallons. ⁷Jesus told the servants to fill them to the top with water. Then after the jars had been filled, ⁸he said, "Now take some water and give it to the man in charge of the feast."
   The servants did as Jesus told them, ⁹and the man in charge drank some of the water that had now turned into wine. He did not know where the wine had come from, but the servants did. He called the bridegroom over ¹⁰and said, "The best wine is always served first. Then after the guests have had plenty, the other wine is served. But you have kept the best until last!"
    ¹¹This was Jesus' first miracle, ^[b] and he did it in the village of Cana in Galilee. There Jesus showed his glory, and his disciples put their faith in him. ¹²After this, he went with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples to the town of Capernaum, where they stayed for a few days.

Jesus in the Temple

(Matthew 21.12,13; Mark 11.15-17; Luke 19.45,46)

 ¹³Not long before the Jewish festival of Passover, Jesus went to Jerusalem. ¹⁴There he found people selling cattle, sheep, and doves in the temple. He also saw moneychangers sitting at their tables. ¹⁵So he took some rope and made a whip. Then he chased everyone out of the temple, together with their sheep and cattle. He turned over the tables of the moneychangers and scattered their coins.     ¹⁶Jesus said to the people who had been selling doves, "Get those doves out of here! Don't make my Father's house a marketplace."
    ¹⁷The disciples then remembered that the Scriptures say, "My love for your house burns in me like a fire."
    ¹⁸The Jewish leaders asked Jesus, "What miracle ^[c] will you work to show us why you have done this?" ¹⁹"Destroy this temple," Jesus answered, "and in three days I will build it again!"
    ²⁰The leaders replied, "It took forty-six years to build this temple. What makes you think you can rebuild it in three days?"
    ²¹But Jesus was talking about his body as a temple. ²²And when he was raised from death, his disciples remembered what he had told them. Then they believed the Scriptures and the words of Jesus.
   

Jesus Knows What People Are Like

 ²³In Jerusalem during Passover many people put their faith in Jesus, because they saw him work miracles. ^[d] ²⁴But Jesus knew what was in their hearts, and he would not let them have power over him. ²⁵No one had to tell him what people were like. He already knew.    

Footnotes:

1. John 2:4 my time hasn't yet come: The time when the true glory of Jesus would be seen, and he would be recognized as God's Son (see 12.23).
2. John 2:11 miracle: The Greek text has " sign." In the Gospel of John the word " sign" is used for the miracle itself and as a way of pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.
3. John 2:18 miracle: The Greek text has " sign." In the Gospel of John the word " sign" is used for the miracle itself and as a way of pointing to Jesus as the Son of God.
4. John 2:23 from above: Or " in a new way." The same Greek word is used in verses 7,31.

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Psalm 103:1-22 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 103

(By David.)

The LORD's Wonderful Love

 ¹With all my heart    I praise the LORD,
   and with all that I am
   I praise his holy name!
    ²With all my heart
   I praise the LORD!
   I will never forget
   how kind he has been.
    ³The LORD forgives our sins,
   heals us when we are sick,
    ⁴and protects us from death.
   His kindness and love
   are a crown on our heads.
    ⁵Each day that we live, ^[a] he provides for our needs
   and gives us the strength
   of a young eagle.
    ⁶For all who are mistreated,
   the LORD brings justice.
    ⁷He taught his Law to Moses
   and showed all Israel
   what he could do.
    ⁸The LORD is merciful!
   He is kind and patient,
   and his love never fails.
    ⁹The LORD won't always be angry
   and point out our sins;
    ¹⁰he doesn't punish us
   as our sins deserve.
    ¹¹How great is God's love for all
   who worship him?
   Greater than the distance
   between heaven and earth!
    ¹²How far has the LORD taken
   our sins from us?
   Farther than the distance
   from east to west!
    ¹³Just as parents are kind
   to their children,
   the LORD is kind
   to all who worship him,
    ¹⁴because he knows
   we are made of dust.
    ¹⁵We humans are like grass
   or wild flowers
   that quickly bloom.
    ¹⁶But a scorching wind blows,
   and they quickly wither
   to be forever forgotten.
    ¹⁷The LORD is always kind
   to those who worship him,
   and he keeps his promises
   to their descendants
    ¹⁸who faithfully obey him.
    ¹⁹God has set up his kingdom
   in heaven,
   and he rules
   the whole creation.
    ²⁰All of you mighty angels,
   who obey God's commands,
   come and praise your LORD!
    ²¹All of you thousands
   who serve and obey God,
   come and praise your LORD!
    ²²All of God's creation
   and all that he rules,
   come and praise your LORD!
   With all my heart
   I praise the LORD!
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 103:5 Each. . . live: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

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Proverbs 14:17-19 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁷Fools have quick tempers,
   and no one likes you
   if you can't be trusted.
    ¹⁸Stupidity leads to foolishness;
   be smart and learn.
    ¹⁹The wicked will come crawling
   to those who obey God.

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Verse of the Day

“We are certain that God will hear our prayers when we ask for what pleases him. And if we know that God listens when we pray, we are sure that our prayers have already been answered.” - 1 John 5:14-15

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

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Thought for the Day

 

American author, poet, dancer, actress, and singer, Maya Angelou wrote, “We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.”