Bible Readings for January 4, 2012

Today our passages are Genesis 8:1–10:32; Matthew 4:12-25; Psalm 4:1-8; and Proverbs 1:20-23. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

 

Genesis 8-10:32 (Contemporary English Version)

Genesis 8

The Water Goes Down

 ¹God did not forget about Noah and the animals with him in the boat. So God made a wind blow, and the water started going down. ²God stopped up the places where the water had been gushing out from under the earth. He also closed up the sky, and the rain stopped. ³For one hundred fifty days the water slowly went down. ⁴Then on the seventeenth day of the seventh month of the year, the boat came to rest somewhere in the Ararat mountains. ⁵The water kept going down, and the mountain tops could be seen on the first day of the tenth month.     ^6-7Forty days later Noah opened a window to send out a raven, but it kept flying around until the water had dried up. ⁸Noah wanted to find out if the water had gone down, and he sent out a dove. ⁹Deep water was still everywhere, and the dove could not find a place to land. So it flew back to the boat. Noah held out his hand and helped it back in.
    ¹⁰Seven days later Noah sent the dove out again. ¹¹It returned in the evening, holding in its beak a green leaf from an olive tree. Noah knew that the water was finally going down. ¹²He waited seven more days before sending the dove out again, and this time it did not return.
    ¹³Noah was now six hundred one years old. And by the first day of that year, almost all the water had gone away. Noah made an opening in the roof of the boat ^[a] and saw that the ground was getting dry. ¹⁴By the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was completely dry. ¹⁵God said to Noah, ¹⁶"You, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law may now leave the boat. ¹⁷Let out the birds, animals, and reptiles, so they can mate and live all over the earth." ¹⁸After Noah and his family had gone out of the boat, ¹⁹the living creatures left in groups of their own kind.
   

The LORD's Promise for the Earth

 ²⁰Noah built an altar where he could offer sacrifices to the LORD. Then he offered on the altar one of each kind of animal and bird that could be used for a sacrifice. ^[b] ²¹The smell of the burning offering pleased God, and he said: Never again will I punish the earth for the sinful things its people do. All of them have evil thoughts from the time they are young, but I will never destroy everything that breathes, as I did this time.     ²²As long as the earth remains,
   there will be planting
   and harvest,
   cold and heat;
   winter and summer,
   day and night.
   

Genesis 9

God's Promise to Noah

 ¹God said to Noah and his sons:    I am giving you my blessing. Have a lot of children and grandchildren, so people will live everywhere on this earth. ²All animals, birds, reptiles, and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them under your control, ³and I have given them to you for food. From now on, you may eat them, as well as the green plants that you have always eaten. ⁴But life is in the blood, and you must not eat any meat that still has blood in it. ^5-6I created humans to be like me, and I will punish any animal or person that takes a human life. If an animal kills someone, that animal must die. And if a person takes the life of another, that person must be put to death.
    ⁷I want you and your descendants to have many children, so people will live everywhere on earth.
    ⁸Again, God said to Noah and his sons:
    ⁹I am going to make a solemn promise to you and to everyone who will live after you. ¹⁰This includes the birds and the animals that came out of the boat. ¹¹I promise every living creature that the earth and those living on it will never again be destroyed by a flood.
    ^12-13The rainbow that I have put in the sky will be my sign to you and to every living creature on earth. It will remind you that I will keep this promise forever. ¹⁴When I send clouds over the earth, and a rainbow appears in the sky, ¹⁵I will remember my promise to you and to all other living creatures. Never again will I let floodwaters destroy all life. ¹⁶When I see the rainbow in the sky, I will always remember the promise that I have made to every living creature. ¹⁷The rainbow will be the sign of that solemn promise.
   

Noah and His Family

 ¹⁸Noah and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, came out of the boat. Ham later had a son named Canaan. ¹⁹All people on earth are descendants of Noah's three sons.     ²⁰Noah farmed the land and was the first to plant a vineyard. ²¹One day he got drunk and was lying naked in his tent. ²²Ham entered the tent and saw him naked, then went back outside and told his brothers. ²³Shem and Japheth put a robe over their shoulders and walked backwards into the tent. Without looking at their father, they placed it over his body.
    ²⁴When Noah woke up and learned what his youngest son had done, ²⁵he said,
   "I now put a curse on Canaan!
   He will be the lowest slave
   of his brothers.
    ²⁶I ask the LORD my God
   to bless Shem
   and make Canaan his slave.
    ²⁷I pray that the LORD
   will give Japheth
   more and more ^[c] land and let him take over
   the territory of Shem.
   May Canaan be his slave."
    ²⁸Noah lived three hundred fifty years after the flood ²⁹and died at the age of nine hundred fifty.
   

Genesis 10

The Descendants of Noah

 ¹After the flood Shem, Ham, and Japheth had many descendants.    

The Descendants of Japheth

 ^2-5Japheth's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. They were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and Tiras.    Gomer was the ancestor of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah.
   Javan was the ancestor of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim, ^[d] who settled along the coast.

The Descendants of Ham

 ^6-20Ham's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. They were Ethiopia, ^[e] Egypt, Put, and Canaan. Cush ^[f] was the ancestor of Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, and Sabteca. Raamah was the ancestor of Sheba and Dedan.    Cush was also the ancestor of Nimrod, a mighty warrior whose strength came from the LORD. Nimrod is the reason for the saying, "You hunt like Nimrod with the strength of the LORD!" Nimrod first ruled in Babylon, Erech, and Accad, all of ^[g] which were in Babylonia. ^[h] From there Nimrod went to Assyria and built the great city of Nineveh. He also built Rehoboth-Ir and Calah, as well as Resen, which is between Nineveh and Calah. Egypt was the ancestor of Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, and Caphtorim, the ancestor of the Philistines. ^[i] Canaan's sons were Sidon and Heth. He was also the ancestor of the Jebusites, the Amorites, the Girgashites, the Hivites, the Arkites, the Sinites, the Arvadites, the Zemarites, and the Hamathites.
   Later the Canaanites spread from the territory of Sidon and went as far as Gaza in the direction of Gerar. They also went as far as Lasha in the direction of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim.
   

The Descendants of Shem

 ^21-31Shem's descendants had their own languages, tribes, and land. He was the older brother of Japheth and the ancestor of the tribes of Eber.    Shem was the ancestor of Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, and Aram.
   Aram was the ancestor of Uz, Hul, Gether, and Mash.
   Arpachshad was the father of Shelah and the grandfather of Eber, whose first son was named Peleg, ^[j] because it was during his time that tribes divided up the earth. Eber's second son was Joktan. Joktan was the ancestor of Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. Their land reached from Mesha in the direction of Sephar, the hill country in the east.
    ³²This completes the list of Noah's descendants. After the flood their descendants became nations and spread all over the world.
   

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 8:13 made. . . boat: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
2. Genesis 8:20 animal. . . sacrifice: See the note at 7.2.
3. Genesis 9:27 more and more: In Hebrew "Japheth" sounds like "more and more."
4. Genesis 10:2 Dodanim: Most Hebrew manuscripts; some Hebrew manuscripts and one ancient translation have "Rodanim."
5. Genesis 10:6 Ethiopia: See the note at 2.13.
6. Genesis 10:6 Cush: See the note at 2.13.
7. Genesis 10:6 and Accad, all of: Or "Accad, and Calneh."
8. Genesis 10:6 Babylonia: The Hebrew text has "Shinar," another name for Babylonia.
9. Genesis 10:6 Casluhim, and Caphtorim, the ancestor of the Philistines: Hebrew "Caphtorim, and Casluhim, the ancestor of the Philistines." The Philistines were from Caphtor (see Jeremiah 47.4; Amos 9.7), better known as Crete.
10. Genesis 10:21 Peleg: In Hebrew "Peleg" means "divided."

Matthew 4:12-25 (Contemporary English Version)

Jesus Begins His Work

(Mark 1.14,15; Luke 4.14,15)

 ¹²When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he went to Galilee. ¹³But instead of staying in Nazareth, Jesus moved to Capernaum. This town was beside Lake Galilee in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali. ^[a] ¹⁴So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said, ¹⁵"Listen, lands of Zebulun    and Naphtali,
   lands along the road
   to the sea
   and east
   of the Jordan!
   Listen Galilee,
   land of the Gentiles!
    ¹⁶Although your people
   live in darkness,
   they will see
   a bright light.
   Although they live
   in the shadow of death,
   a light will shine
   on them."
    ¹⁷Then Jesus started preaching, "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven will soon be here." ^[b]

Jesus Chooses Four Fishermen

(Mark 1.16-20; Luke 5.1-11)

 ¹⁸While Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers. One was Simon, also known as Peter, and the other was Andrew. They were fishermen, and they were casting their net into the lake. ¹⁹Jesus said to them, "Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish." ²⁰Right then the two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.     ²¹Jesus walked on until he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father, mending their nets. Jesus asked them to come with him too. ²²Right away they left the boat and their father and went with Jesus.
   

Jesus Teaches, Preaches, and Heals

(Luke 6.17-19)

 ²³Jesus went all over Galilee, teaching in the Jewish meeting places and preaching the good news about God's kingdom. He also healed every kind of disease and sickness. ²⁴News about him spread all over Syria, and people with every kind of sickness or disease were brought to him. Some of them had a lot of demons in them, others were thought to be crazy, ^[c] and still others could not walk. But Jesus healed them all. ²⁵Large crowds followed Jesus from Galilee and the region around the ten cities known as Decapolis. ^[d] They also came from Jerusalem, Judea, and from across the Jordan River.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 4:13 Zebulun and Naphtali: In Old Testament times these tribes were in northern Palestine, and in New Testament times many Gentiles lived where these tribes had once been.
2. Matthew 4:17 The kingdom of heaven will soon be here: See the two notes at 3.2.
3. Matthew 4:24 thought to be crazy: In ancient times people with epilepsy were thought to be crazy.
4. Matthew 4:25 the ten cities known as Decapolis: A group of ten cities east of Samaria and Galilee, where the people followed the Greek way of life.

Psalm 4:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 4

(A psalm by David for the music leader. Use stringed instruments.)

An Evening Prayer

 ¹You are my God and protector.    Please answer my prayer.
   I was in terrible distress,
   but you set me free.
   Now have pity and listen
   as I pray.
    ²How long will you people
   refuse to respect me? ^[a] You love foolish things,
   and you run after
   what is worthless. ^[b] ³The LORD has chosen
   everyone who is faithful
   to be his very own, ^[c] and he answers my prayers.
    ⁴But each of you
   had better tremble
   and turn from your sins.
   Silently search your heart
   as you lie in bed.
    ⁵Offer the proper sacrifices
   and trust the LORD.
    ⁶There are some who ask,
   "Who will be good to us?"
   Let your kindness, LORD,
   shine brightly on us.
    ⁷You brought me more happiness
   than a rich harvest
   of grain and grapes.
    ⁸I can lie down
   and sleep soundly
   because you, LORD,
   will keep me safe.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 4:2 me: Or " my God."
2. Psalm 4:2 foolish. . . worthless: This may refer to idols and false gods.
3. Psalm 4:3 has chosen. . . very own: Some Hebrew manuscripts have " work miracles for his faithful people."

Proverbs 1:20-23 (Contemporary English Version)

Wisdom Speaks

 ²⁰Wisdom ^[a] shouts in the streets wherever crowds gather.     ²¹She shouts in the marketplaces
   and near the city gates
   as she says to the people,
    ²²"How much longer
   will you enjoy
   being stupid fools?
   Won't you ever stop sneering
   and laughing at knowledge?
    ²³Listen as I correct you
   and tell you what I think.
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 1:20 Wisdom: In the book of Proverbs the word " wisdom" is sometimes used as though wisdom were a supernatural being who was with God at the time of creation. 

Verse for the Day

 

“The LORD God has told us what is right and what he demands: 'See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern, and humbly obey your God.'” - Micah 6:8

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, orator, political theorist, consul and constitutionalist Cicero wrote, “We must not say every mistake is a foolish one.”

Bible Readings for January 3, 2012

Today our passages are Genesis 5:1–7:24; Matthew 3:7–4:11; Psalm 3:1-8; and Proverbs 1:10-19. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

 

Genesis 5-7:24 (Contemporary English Version)

Genesis 5

Descendants of Adam

 ^1-2God created men and women to be like himself. He gave them his blessing and called them human beings. This is a list of the descendants of Adam, the first man:     ^3-4When Adam was one hundred thirty, he had a son who was just like him, and he named him Seth. Adam had more children ⁵and died at the age of nine hundred thirty.
    ⁶When Seth was one hundred five, he had a son named Enosh. ⁷Seth had more children ⁸and died at the age of nine hundred twelve.
    ⁹When Enosh was ninety, he had a son named Kenan. ¹⁰Enosh had more children ¹¹and died at the age of nine hundred five.
    ¹²When Kenan was seventy, he had a son named Mahalalel. ¹³Kenan had more children ¹⁴and died at the age of nine hundred ten.
    ¹⁵When Mahalalel was sixty-five, he had a son named Jared. ¹⁶Mahalalel had more children ¹⁷and died at the age of eight hundred ninety-five.
    ¹⁸When Jared was one hundred sixty-two, he had a son named Enoch. ¹⁹Jared had more children ²⁰and died at the age of nine hundred sixty-two.
    ²¹When Enoch was sixty-five, he had a son named Methuselah, ²²and during the next three hundred years he had more children. Enoch truly loved God, ^23-24and God took him away at the age of three hundred sixty-five.
    ²⁵When Methuselah was one hundred eighty-seven, he had a son named Lamech. ²⁶Methuselah had more children ²⁷and died at the age of nine hundred sixty-nine.
    ²⁸When Lamech was one hundred eighty-two, he had a son. ²⁹Lamech said, "I'll name him Noah because he will give us comfort, ^[a] as we struggle hard to make a living on this land that the LORD has put under a curse." ³⁰Lamech had more children ³¹and died at the age of seven hundred seventy-seven. ³²After Noah was five hundred years old, he had three sons and named them Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
   

Genesis 6

The LORD Will Send a Flood

 ^1-2More and more people were born, until finally they spread all over the earth. Some of their daughters were so beautiful that supernatural beings ^[b] came down and married the ones they wanted. ³Then the LORD said, "I won't let my life-giving breath remain in anyone forever. ^[c] No one will live for more than one hundred twenty years." ^{[d] 4}The children of the supernatural beings who had married these women became famous heroes and warriors. They were called Nephilim and lived on the earth at that time and even later.     ⁵The LORD saw how bad the people on earth were and that everything they thought and planned was evil. ⁶He was very sorry that he had made them, ⁷and he said, "I'll destroy every living creature on earth! I'll wipe out people, animals, birds, and reptiles. I'm sorry I ever made them."
    ⁸But the LORD was pleased with Noah, ⁹and this is the story about him. Noah was the only person who lived right and obeyed God. ¹⁰He had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
    ^11-12God knew that everyone was terribly cruel and violent. ¹³So he told Noah:
   Cruelty and violence have spread everywhere. Now I'm going to destroy the whole earth and all its people. ¹⁴Get some good lumber and build a boat. Put rooms in it and cover it with tar inside and out. ¹⁵Make it four hundred fifty feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. ¹⁶Build a roof ^[e] on the boat and leave a space of about eighteen inches between the roof and the sides. ^[f] Make the boat three stories high and put a door on one side. ¹⁷I'm going to send a flood that will destroy everything that breathes! Nothing will be left alive. ¹⁸But I solemnly promise that you, your wife, your sons, and your daughters-in-law will be kept safe in the boat. ^{[g] 19-20}Bring into the boat with you a male and a female of every kind of animal and bird, as well as a male and a female of every reptile. I don't want them to be destroyed. ²¹Store up enough food both for yourself and for them.
    ²²Noah did everything the LORD told him to do. 

Genesis 7

The Flood

 ¹The LORD told Noah:    Take your whole family with you into the boat, because you are the only one on this earth who pleases me. ²Take seven pairs of every kind of animal that can be used for sacrifice ^[h] and one pair of all others. ³Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird with you. Do this so there will always be animals and birds on the earth. ⁴Seven days from now I will send rain that will last for forty days and nights, and I will destroy all other living creatures I have made. ^5-7Noah was six hundred years old when he went into the boat to escape the flood, and he did everything the LORD had told him to do. His wife, his sons, and his daughters-in-law all went inside with him. ^8-9He obeyed God and took a male and a female of each kind of animal and bird into the boat with him. ¹⁰Seven days later a flood began to cover the earth.
    ^11-12Noah was six hundred years old when the water under the earth started gushing out everywhere. The sky opened like windows, and rain poured down for forty days and nights. All this began on the seventeenth day of the second month of the year. ¹³On that day Noah and his wife went into the boat with their three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. ¹⁴They took along every kind of animal, tame and wild, including the birds. ¹⁵Noah took a male and a female of every living creature with him, ¹⁶just as God had told him to do. And when they were all in the boat, God closed the door.
    ^17-18For forty days the rain poured down without stopping. And the water became deeper and deeper, until the boat started floating high above the ground. ^19-20Finally, the mighty flood was so deep that even the highest mountain peaks were almost twenty-five feet below the surface of the water. ²¹Not a bird, animal, reptile, or human was left alive anywhere on earth. ^22-23The LORD destroyed everything that breathed. Nothing was left alive except Noah and the others in the boat. ²⁴A hundred fifty days later, the water started going down.
   

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 5:29 Noah. . . comfort: In Hebrew "Noah" sounds like "comfort."
2. Genesis 6:1 supernatural beings: Or "angels."
3. Genesis 6:3 I won't. . . forever: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
4. Genesis 6:3 No one. . . years: Or "In fact, they will all be destroyed in about one hundred years" (that is, at the time of the flood).
5. Genesis 6:16 roof: Or "window."
6. Genesis 6:16 leave. . . sides: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
7. Genesis 6:18 boat: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verse 18.
8. Genesis 7:2 animal. . . for sacrifice: Hebrew "clean animals." Animals that could be used for sacrifice were called "clean," and animals that could not be used were called "unclean."

Matthew 3:7-4:11 (Contemporary English Version)

⁷Many Pharisees and Sadducees also came to be baptized. But John said to them:
   You bunch of snakes! Who warned you to run from the coming judgment? ⁸Do something to show that you have really given up your sins. ⁹And don't start telling yourselves that you belong to Abraham's family. I tell you that God can turn these stones into children for Abraham. ¹⁰An ax is ready to cut the trees down at their roots. Any tree that doesn't produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into a fire.
    ¹¹I baptize you with water so that you will give up your sins. ^[a] But someone more powerful is going to come, and I am not good enough even to carry his sandals. ^[b] He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. ¹²His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks. ^[c] He will store the wheat in a barn and burn the husks in a fire that never goes out.

The Baptism of Jesus

(Mark 1.9-11; Luke 3.21,22)

 ¹³Jesus left Galilee and went to the Jordan River to be baptized by John. ¹⁴But John kept objecting and said, "I ought to be baptized by you. Why have you come to me?"     ¹⁵Jesus answered, "For now this is how it should be, because we must do all that God wants us to do." Then John agreed.
    ¹⁶So Jesus was baptized. And as soon as he came out of the water, the sky opened, and he saw the Spirit of God coming down on him like a dove. ¹⁷Then a voice from heaven said, "This is my own dear Son, and I am pleased with him."
   

Matthew 4

Jesus and the Devil

(Mark 1.12,13; Luke 4.1-13)

 ¹The Holy Spirit led Jesus into the desert, so that the devil could test him. ²After Jesus had gone without eating ^[d] for forty days and nights, he was very hungry. ³Then the devil came to him and said, "If you are God's Son, tell these stones to turn into bread." ⁴Jesus answered, "The Scriptures say:    `No one can live only on food.
   People need every word
   that God has spoken.' "
    <sup>5</sup>Next, the devil took Jesus to the holy city and had him stand on the highest part of the temple. <sup>6</sup>The devil said, "If you are God's Son, jump off. The Scriptures say:
   `God will give his angels
   orders about you.
   They will catch you
   in their arms,
   and you won't hurt
   your feet on the stones.' "
    ⁷Jesus answered, "The Scriptures also say, `Don't try to test the Lord your God!' "
    <sup>8</sup>Finally, the devil took Jesus up on a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms on earth and their power. <sup>9</sup>The devil said to him, "I will give all this to you, if you will bow down and worship me."
    <sup>10</sup>Jesus answered, "Go away Satan! The Scriptures say:
   `Worship the Lord your God
   and serve only him.' "
    ¹¹Then the devil left Jesus, and angels came to help him.
   

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 3:11 so that you will give up your sins: Or "because you have given up your sins."
2. Matthew 3:11 carry his sandals: This was one of the duties of a slave.
3. Matthew 3:12 His threshing fork is in his hand, and he is ready to separate the wheat from the husks: After Jewish farmers had trampled out the grain, they used a large fork to pitch the grain and the husks into the air. Wind would blow away the light husks, and the grain would fall back to the ground, where it could be gathered up.
4. Matthew 4:2 without eating: The Jewish people sometimes went without eating (also called "fasting") to show their love for God or to show sorrow for their sins.

Psalm 3:1-8 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 3

(Written by David when he was running from his son Absalom.)

An Early Morning Prayer

 ¹I have a lot of enemies, LORD.    Many fight against ²me and say,
   "God won't rescue you!"
    ³But you are my shield,
   and you give me victory
   and great honor.
    ⁴I pray to you, and you answer
   from your sacred hill.
    ⁵I sleep and wake up refreshed
   because you, LORD,
   protect me.
    ⁶Ten thousand enemies attack
   from every side,
   but I am not afraid.
    ⁷Come and save me, LORD God!
   Break my enemies' jaws
   and shatter their teeth,
    ⁸because you protect
   and bless your people.

Proverbs 1:10-19 (Contemporary English Version)

¹⁰Don't be tempted by sinners
   or listen ¹¹when they say,
   "Come on! Let's gang up
   and kill somebody,
   just for the fun of it!
    ¹²They're well and healthy now,
   but we'll finish them off
   once and for all.
    ¹³We'll take their valuables
   and fill our homes
   with stolen goods.
    ¹⁴If you join our gang,
   you'll get your share."
    ¹⁵Don't follow anyone like that
   or do what they do.
    ¹⁶They are in a big hurry
   to commit some crime,
   perhaps even murder.
    ¹⁷They are like a bird
   that sees the bait,
   but ignores the trap. ^{[a] 18}They gang up to murder someone,
   but they are the victims.
    ¹⁹The wealth you get from crime
   robs you of your life.
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 1:17 They are. . . trap: Or " Be like a bird that won't go for the bait, if it sees the trap."

 

Verse of the Day

 

“[God's Kindness and the New Life]God has shown us how kind he is by coming to save all people. He taught us to give up our wicked ways and our worldly desires and to live decent and honest lives in this world.” - Titus 2:11-12

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

American author and humorist Mark Twain wrote, “Suppose you were an idiot, and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.”

Bible Readings for January 2, 2013

Today our passages are Genesis 3:1–4:26; Matthew 2:13–3:6; Psalm 2:1-12; and Proverbs 1:7-9. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

 

Genesis 3-4:26 (Contemporary English Version)

Genesis 3

The First Sin

 ¹The snake was sneakier than any of the other wild animals that the LORD God had made. One day it came to the woman and asked, "Did God tell you not to eat fruit from any tree in the garden?"     ²The woman answered, "God said we could eat fruit from any tree in the garden, ³except the one in the middle. He told us not to eat fruit from that tree or even to touch it. If we do, we will die."
    ⁴"No, you won't!" the snake replied. ⁵"God understands what will happen on the day you eat fruit from that tree. You will see what you have done, and you will know the difference between right and wrong, just as God does."
    ⁶The woman stared at the fruit. It looked beautiful and tasty. She wanted the wisdom that it would give her, and she ate some of the fruit. Her husband was there with her, so she gave some to him, and he ate it too. ⁷Right away they saw what they had done, and they realized they were naked. Then they sewed fig leaves together to make something to cover themselves.
    ⁸Late in the afternoon a breeze began to blow, and the man and woman heard the LORD God walking in the garden. They were frightened and hid behind some trees.
   

The Trouble with Sin

 ⁹The LORD called out to the man and asked, "Where are you?"     ¹⁰The man answered, "I was naked, and when I heard you walking through the garden, I was frightened and hid!"
    ¹¹"How did you know you were naked?" God asked. "Did you eat any fruit from that tree in the middle of the garden?"
    ¹²"It was the woman you put here with me," the man said. "She gave me some of the fruit, and I ate it."
    ¹³The LORD God then asked the woman, "What have you done?"
   "The snake tricked me," she answered. "And I ate some of that fruit."
    ¹⁴So the LORD God said to the snake:
   "Because of what you have done,
   you will be the only animal
   to suffer this curse--
   For as long as you live,
   you will crawl on your stomach
   and eat dirt.
    ¹⁵You and this woman
   will hate each other;
   your descendants and hers
   will always be enemies.
   One of hers will strike you
   on the head,
   and you will strike him
   on the heel."
    ¹⁶Then the LORD said to the woman,
   "You will suffer terribly
   when you give birth.
   But you will still desire
   your husband,
   and he will rule over you."
    ¹⁷The LORD said to the man,
   "You listened to your wife
   and ate fruit from that tree.
   And so, the ground
   will be under a curse
   because of what you did.
   As long as you live,
   you will have to struggle
   to grow enough food.
    ¹⁸Your food will be plants,
   but the ground
   will produce
   thorns and thistles.
    ¹⁹You will have to sweat
   to earn a living;
   you were made out of soil,
   and you will once again
   turn into soil."
    ²⁰The man Adam ^[a] named his wife Eve ^[b] because she would become the mother of all who live. ²¹Then the LORD God made clothes out of animal skins for the man and his wife.
    ²²The LORD said, "These people now know the difference between right and wrong, just as we do. But they must not be allowed to eat fruit from the tree that lets them live forever." ²³So the LORD God sent them out of the Garden of Eden, where they would have to work the ground from which the man had been made. ²⁴Then God put winged creatures at the entrance to the garden and a flaming, flashing sword to guard the way to the life-giving tree.
   

Genesis 4

Cain Murders Abel

 ¹Adam ^[c] and Eve had a son. Then Eve said, "I'll name him Cain because I got ^[d] him with the help of the LORD." ²Later she had another son and named him Abel. Abel became a sheep farmer, but Cain farmed the land. ³One day, Cain gave part of his harvest to the LORD, ⁴and Abel also gave an offering to the LORD. He killed the first-born lamb from one of his sheep and gave the LORD the best parts of it. The LORD was pleased with Abel and his offering, ⁵but not with Cain and his offering. This made Cain so angry that he could not hide his feelings.     ⁶The LORD said to Cain:
   What's wrong with you? Why do you have such an angry look on your face? ⁷If you had done the right thing, you would be smiling. ^[e] But you did the wrong thing, and now sin is waiting to attack you like a lion. Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it! ⁸Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's go for a walk." ^[f] And when they were out in a field, Cain killed him. ⁹Afterwards the LORD asked Cain, "Where is Abel?"
   "How should I know?" he answered. "Am I supposed to look after my brother?"
    ¹⁰Then the LORD said:
   Why have you done this terrible thing? You killed your own brother, and his blood flowed onto the ground. Now his blood is calling out for me to punish you. ¹¹And so, I'll put you under a curse. Because you killed Abel and made his blood run out on the ground, you will never be able to farm the land again. ¹²If you try to farm the land, it won't produce anything for you. From now on, you'll be without a home, and you'll spend the rest of your life wandering from place to place.
    ¹³"This punishment is too hard!" Cain said. ¹⁴"You're making me leave my home and live far from you. ^[g] I will have to wander about without a home, and just anyone could kill me." ¹⁵"No!" ^[h] the LORD answered. "Anyone who kills you will be punished seven times worse than I am punishing you." So the LORD put a mark on Cain to warn everyone not to kill him. ¹⁶But Cain had to go far from the LORD and live in the Land of Wandering, ^[i] which is east of Eden.

More and More People

 ¹⁷Later, Cain and his wife had a son named Enoch. At the time Cain was building a town, and so he named it Enoch after his son. ¹⁸Then Enoch had a son named Irad, who had a son named Mehujael, who had a son named Methushael, who had a son named Lamech.     ¹⁹Lamech married Adah, then Zillah. ^20-21Lamech and Adah had two sons, Jabal and Jubal. Their son Jabal was the first to live in tents and raise sheep and goats. Jubal was the first to play harps and flutes.
    ²²Lamech and Zillah had a son named Tubal Cain who made tools out of bronze and iron. They also had a daughter, whose name was Naamah.
    ²³One day, Lamech said to his two wives, "A young man wounded me, and I killed him. ²⁴Anyone who tries to get even with me will be punished ten times more than anyone who tries to get even with Cain."
    ²⁵Adam and his wife had another son. They named him Seth, because they said, "God has given ^[j] us a son to take the place of Abel, who was killed by his brother Cain." ²⁶Later, Seth had a son and named him Enosh. About this time people started worshiping the LORD. ^[k]

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 3:20 The man Adam: In Hebrew "man" and "Adam" are the same.
2. Genesis 3:20 Eve: In Hebrew "Eve" sounds like "living."
3. Genesis 4:1 Adam: See the note at 3.20.
4. Genesis 4:1 Cain. . . got: In Hebrew "Cain" sounds like "got."
5. Genesis 4:7 you would be smiling: Or "I would have accepted your offering."
6. Genesis 4:8 Cain said to his brother Abel, "Let's walk": Most ancient translations; Hebrew "Cain spoke to his brother Abel."
7. Genesis 4:14 live. . . you: At this time it was believed that the LORD was with his people only in their own land.
8. Genesis 4:15 No: Three ancient translations; Hebrew "Very well!"
9. Genesis 4:16 Wandering: The Hebrew text has "Nod," which means "wandering."
10. Genesis 4:25 Seth. . . given: In Hebrew "Seth" sounds like "given."
11. Genesis 4:26 worshiping the LORD: Or "worshiping in the name of the LORD."

Matthew 2:13-3:6 (Contemporary English Version)

The Escape to Egypt

 ¹³After the wise men had gone, an angel from the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up! Hurry and take the child and his mother to Egypt! Stay there until I tell you to return, because Herod is looking for the child and wants to kill him."     ¹⁴That night, Joseph got up and took his wife and the child to Egypt, ¹⁵where they stayed until Herod died. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, "I called my son out of Egypt."
   

The Killing of the Children

 ¹⁶When Herod found out that the wise men from the east had tricked him, he was very angry. He gave orders for his men to kill all the boys who lived in or near Bethlehem and were two years old and younger. This was based on what he had learned from the wise men.     ¹⁷So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet Jeremiah had said,
    ¹⁸"In Ramah a voice was heard
   crying and weeping loudly.
   Rachel was mourning
   for her children,
   and she refused
   to be comforted,
   because they were dead."
   

The Return from Egypt

 ¹⁹After King Herod died, an angel from the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph while he was still in Egypt. ²⁰The angel said, "Get up and take the child and his mother back to Israel. The people who wanted to kill him are now dead."     ²¹Joseph got up and left with them for Israel. ²²But when he heard that Herod's son Archelaus was now ruler of Judea, he was afraid to go there. Then in a dream he was told to go to Galilee, ²³and they went to live there in the town of Nazareth. So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, "He will be called a Nazarene." ^[a]

Matthew 3

The Preaching of John the Baptist

(Mark 1.1-8; Luke 3.1-18; John 1.19-28)

 ¹Years later, John the Baptist started preaching in the desert of Judea. ²He said, "Turn back to God! The kingdom of heaven ^[b] will soon be here." ^[c] ³John was the one the prophet Isaiah was talking about, when he said,    "In the desert someone
   is shouting,
   `Get the road ready
   for the Lord!
   Make a straight path
   for him.' "
    ⁴John wore clothes made of camel's hair. He had a leather strap around his waist and ate grasshoppers and wild honey.
    ⁵From Jerusalem and all Judea and from the Jordan River Valley crowds of people went to John. ⁶They told how sorry they were for their sins, and he baptized them in the river.
   

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 2:23 He will be called a Nazarene: The prophet who said this is not known.
2. Matthew 3:2 kingdom of heaven: In the Gospel of Matthew "kingdom of heaven" is used with the same meaning as "God's kingdom" in Mark and Luke.
3. Matthew 3:2 will soon be here: Or "is already here."

Psalm 2:1-12 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 2

The LORD's Chosen King

 ¹Why do the nations plot, ^[a] and why do their people    make useless plans? ^[b] ²The kings of this earth
   have all joined together
   to turn against the LORD
   and his chosen one.
    ³They say, "Let's cut the ropes
   and set ourselves free!"
    ⁴In heaven the LORD laughs
   as he sits on his throne,
   making fun of the nations.
    ⁵The LORD becomes furious
   and threatens them.
   His anger terrifies them
   as he says,
    ⁶"I've put my king on Zion,
   my sacred hill."
    ⁷I will tell the promise
   that the LORD made to me:
   "You are my son, because today
   I have become your father.
    ⁸Ask me for the nations,
   and every nation on earth
   will belong to you.
    ⁹You will smash them
   with an iron rod
   and shatter them
   like dishes of clay."
    ¹⁰Be smart, all you rulers,
   and pay close attention.
    ¹¹Serve and honor the LORD;
   be glad and tremble.
    ¹²Show respect to his son
   because if you don't,
   the LORD might become furious
   and suddenly destroy you. ^[c] But he blesses and protects
   everyone who runs to him.
   

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 2:1 Why. . . plot: Or " Why are the nations restless?"
2. Psalm 2:1 make useless plans: Or " grumble uselessly."
3. Psalm 2:12 Serve. . . you: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text of verses 11,12.

Proverbs 1:7-9 (Contemporary English Version)

⁷Respect and obey the LORD!
   This is the beginning
   of knowledge. ^[a] Only a fool rejects wisdom
   and good advice.
   

Warnings against Bad Friends

 ⁸My child, obey the teachings    of your parents,
    ⁹and wear their teachings
   as you would a lovely hat
   or a pretty necklace.
   

Footnotes:

1. Proverbs 1:7 the beginning of knowledge: Or " what knowledge is all about."

 

Verse of the Day

 

“Teach us to use wisely all the time we have.” - Psalm 90:12

Today's passage is from the Contemporary English Version.

Thought for the Day

 

Italian poet of the Middle Ages Dante Alighieri wrote, “Follow your own star!”

Bible Readings for January 1, 2013

Yesterday our passages are Genesis 1:1–2:25; Matthew 1:1–2:12; Psalm 1:1-6; and Proverbs 1:1-6. The readings are the Contemporary English Version.

 

Genesis 1-2:25 (Contemporary English Version)

Genesis 1

The Story of Creation

 ¹In the beginning God    created the heavens
   and the earth. ^[a] ²The earth was barren,
   with no form of life; ^[b] it was under a roaring ocean
   covered with darkness.
   But the Spirit of God ^[c] was moving over the water.
   

The First Day

 ³ God said, "I command light to shine!" And light started shining. ⁴God looked at the light and saw that it was good. He separated light from darkness ⁵and named the light "Day" and the darkness "Night." Evening came and then morning--that was the first day. ^[d]

The Second Day

 ⁶ God said, "I command a dome to separate the water above it from the water below it." ⁷And that's what happened. God made the dome ⁸and named it "Sky." Evening came and then morning--that was the second day.    

The Third Day

 ⁹ God said, "I command the water under the sky to come together in one place, so there will be dry ground." And that's what happened. ¹⁰God named the dry ground "Land," and he named the water "Ocean." God looked at what he had done and saw that it was good.     ¹¹God said, "I command the earth to produce all kinds of plants, including fruit trees and grain." And that's what happened. ¹²The earth produced all kinds of vegetation. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹³Evening came and then morning--that was the third day.
   

The Fourth Day

 ¹⁴ God said, "I command lights to appear in the sky and to separate day from night and to show the time for seasons, special days, and years. ¹⁵I command them to shine on the earth." And that's what happened. ¹⁶God made two powerful lights, the brighter one to rule the day and the other ^[e] to rule the night. He also made the stars. ¹⁷Then God put these lights in the sky to shine on the earth, ¹⁸to rule day and night, and to separate light from darkness. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ¹⁹Evening came and then morning--that was the fourth day.

The Fifth Day

 ²⁰ God said, "I command the ocean to be full of living creatures, and I command birds to fly above the earth." ²¹So God made the giant sea monsters and all the living creatures that swim in the ocean. He also made every kind of bird. God looked at what he had done, and it was good. ²²Then he gave the living creatures his blessing--he told the ocean creatures to live everywhere in the ocean and the birds to live everywhere on earth. ²³Evening came and then morning--that was the fifth day.    

The Sixth Day

 ²⁴ God said, "I command the earth to give life to all kinds of tame animals, wild animals, and reptiles." And that's what happened. ²⁵God made every one of them. Then he looked at what he had done, and it was good.     ²⁶God said, "Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures."
    ²⁷So God created humans to be like himself; he made men and women. ²⁸God gave them his blessing and said:
   Have a lot of children! Fill the earth with people and bring it under your control. Rule over the fish in the ocean, the birds in the sky, and every animal on the earth.
    ²⁹I have provided all kinds of fruit and grain for you to eat. ³⁰And I have given the green plants as food for everything else that breathes. These will be food for animals, both wild and tame, and for birds.
    ³¹God looked at what he had done. All of it was very good! Evening came and then morning--that 1was the sixth day.
   

Genesis 2

 ¹So the heavens and the earth and everything else were created.    

The Seventh Day

 ² By the seventh day God had finished his work, and so he rested. ³God blessed the seventh day and made it special because on that day he rested from his work.     ⁴That's how God created the heavens and the earth.
   When the LORD God made the heavens and the earth,

The Garden of Eden

 ⁵no grass or plants were growing anywhere. God had not yet sent any rain, and there was no one to work the land. ⁶But streams ^[f] came up from the ground and watered the earth. ⁷The LORD God took a handful of soil and made a man. ^[g] God breathed life into the man, and the man started breathing. ⁸The LORD made a garden in a place called Eden, which was in the east, and he put the man there. ⁹The LORD God placed all kinds of beautiful trees and fruit trees in the garden. Two other trees were in the middle of the garden. One of the trees gave life--the other gave the power to know the difference between right and wrong.     ¹⁰From Eden a river flowed out to water the garden, then it divided into four rivers. ¹¹The first one is the Pishon River that flows through the land of Havilah, ¹²where pure gold, rare perfumes, and precious stones are found. ¹³The second is the Gihon River that winds through Ethiopia. ^[h] ¹⁴The Tigris River that flows east of Assyria is the third, and the fourth is the Euphrates River. ¹⁵The LORD God put the man in the Garden of Eden to take care of it and to look after it. ¹⁶But the LORD told him, "You may eat fruit from any tree in the garden, ¹⁷except the one that has the power to let you know the difference between right and wrong. If you eat any fruit from that tree, you will die before the day is over!"
    ¹⁸The LORD God said, "It isn't good for the man to live alone. I need to make a suitable partner for him." ^19-20So the LORD took some soil and made animals and birds. He brought them to the man to see what names he would give each of them. Then the man named the tame animals and the birds and the wild animals. That's how they got their names.
   None of these was the right kind of partner for the man. ²¹So the LORD God made him fall into a deep sleep, and he took out one of the man's ribs. Then after closing the man's side, ²²the LORD made a woman out of the rib.
   The LORD God brought her to the man, ²³and the man exclaimed,
   "Here is someone like me!
   She is part of my body,
   my own flesh and bones.
   She came from me, a man.
   So I will name her Woman!" ^[i] ²⁴That's why a man will leave his own father and mother. He marries a woman, and the two of them become like one person.
    ²⁵Although the man and his wife were both naked, they were not ashamed.
   

Footnotes:

1. Genesis 1:1 the heavens and the earth: "The heavens and the earth" stood for the universe.
2. Genesis 1:2 In. . . life: Or "When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was barren with no form of life."
3. Genesis 1:2 the Spirit of God: Or "a mighty wind."
4. Genesis 1:5 the first day: A day was measured from evening to evening.
5. Genesis 1:16 the brighter. . . the other: The sun and the moon. But they are not called by their names, because in Old Testament times some people worshiped the sun and the moon as though they were gods.
6. Genesis 2:6 streams: Or "mist."
7. Genesis 2:7 man: In Hebrew "man" comes from the same word as "soil."
8. Genesis 2:13 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has "Cush," which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
9. Genesis 2:23 a man. . . Woman: In Hebrew the words "man" and "woman" are similar.

Matthew 1-2:12 (Contemporary English Version)

Matthew 1

The Ancestors of Jesus

(Luke 3.23-38)

 ¹Jesus Christ came from the family of King David and also from the family of Abraham. And this is a list of his ancestors. From Abraham to King David, his ancestors were:    Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and his brothers (Judah's sons were Perez and Zerah, and their mother was Tamar), Hezron;
   Ram, Amminadab, Nahshon, Salmon, Boaz (his mother was Rahab), Obed (his mother was Ruth), Jesse, and King David.
    From David to the time of the exile in Babylonia, the ancestors of Jesus were:
   David, Solomon (his mother had been Uriah's wife), Rehoboam, Abijah, Asa, Jehoshaphat, Jehoram;
   Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, Manasseh, Amon, Josiah, and Jehoiachin and his brothers.
    ^12-16From the exile to the birth of Jesus, his ancestors were:
   Jehoiachin, Shealtiel, Zerubbabel, Abiud, Eliakim, Azor, Zadok, Achim;
   Eliud, Eleazar, Matthan, Jacob, and Joseph, the husband of Mary, the mother of Jesus, who is called the Messiah.
    ¹⁷There were fourteen generations from Abraham to David. There were also fourteen from David to the exile in Babylonia and fourteen more to the birth of the Messiah.
   

The Birth of Jesus

(Luke 2.1-7)

 ¹⁸This is how Jesus Christ was born. A young woman named Mary was engaged to Joseph from King David's family. But before they were married, she learned that she was going to have a baby by God's Holy Spirit. ¹⁹Joseph was a good man ^[a] and did not want to embarrass Mary in front of everyone. So he decided to quietly call off the wedding. ²⁰While Joseph was thinking about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, "Joseph, the baby that Mary will have is from the Holy Spirit. Go ahead and marry her. ²¹Then after her baby is born, name him Jesus, ^[b] because he will save his people from their sins." ²²So the Lord's promise came true, just as the prophet had said, ²³"A virgin will have a baby boy, and he will be called Immanuel," which means "God is with us."     ²⁴After Joseph woke up, he and Mary were soon married, just as the Lord's angel had told him to do. ²⁵But they did not sleep together before her baby was born. Then Joseph named him Jesus.
   

Matthew 2

The Wise Men

 ¹When Jesus was born in the village of Bethlehem in Judea, Herod was king. During this time some wise men ^[c] from the east came to Jerusalem ²and said, "Where is the child born to be king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east ^[d] and have come to worship him." ³When King Herod heard about this, he was worried, and so was everyone else in Jerusalem. ⁴Herod brought together the chief priests and the teachers of the Law of Moses and asked them, "Where will the Messiah be born?"     ⁵They told him, "He will be born in Bethlehem, just as the prophet wrote,
    ⁶'Bethlehem in the land
   of Judea,
   you are very important
   among the towns of Judea.
   From your town
   will come a leader,
   who will be like a shepherd
   for my people Israel.' "
    ⁷Herod secretly called in the wise men and asked them when they had first seen the star. ⁸He told them, "Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, let me know. I want to go and worship him too."
    ⁹The wise men listened to what the king said and then left. And the star they had seen in the east went on ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. ¹⁰They were thrilled and excited to see the star.
    ¹¹When the men went into the house and saw the child with Mary, his mother, they knelt down and worshiped him. They took out their gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh ^[e] and gave them to him. ¹²Later they were warned in a dream not to return to Herod, and they went back home by another road.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 1:19 good man: Or "kind man," or "man who always did the right thing."
2. Matthew 1:21 name him Jesus: In Hebrew the name "Jesus" means "the Lord saves."
3. Matthew 2:1 wise men: People famous for studying the stars.
4. Matthew 2:2 his star in the east: Or "his star rise."
5. Matthew 2:11 frankincense, and myrrh: Frankincense was a valuable powder that was burned to make a sweet smell. Myrrh was a valuable sweet-smelling powder often used in perfume.

Psalm 1:1-6 (Contemporary English Version)

Psalm 1

BOOK I

(Psalms 1-41)

The Way to Happiness

 ¹God blesses those people    who refuse evil advice
   and won't follow sinners
   or join in sneering at God.
    ²Instead, the Law of the LORD
   makes them happy,
   and they think about it
   day and night.
    ³They are like trees
   growing beside a stream,
   trees that produce
   fruit in season
   and always have leaves.
   Those people succeed
   in everything they do.
    ⁴That isn't true of those
   who are evil,
   because they are like straw
   blown by the wind.
    ⁵Sinners won't have an excuse
   on the day of judgment,
   and they won't have a place
   with the people of God.
    ⁶The LORD protects everyone
   who follows him,
   but the wicked follow a road
   that leads to ruin.

Proverbs 1:1-6 (Contemporary English Version)

Proverbs 1

How Proverbs Can Be Used

 ¹These are the proverbs    of King Solomon of Israel,
   the son of David.
    ²Proverbs will teach you
   wisdom and self-control
   and how to understand
   sayings with deep meanings.
    ³You will learn what is right
   and honest and fair.
    ⁴From these, an ordinary person
   can learn to be smart,
   and young people can gain
   knowledge and good sense.
    ⁵If you are already wise,
   you will become even wiser.
   And if you are smart,
   you will learn to understand
    ⁶proverbs and sayings,
   as well as words of wisdom
   and all kinds of riddles.