March 16 Reading through the Bible Day 76

NUMBERS 24:1-25:18
LUKE 2:1-35
PSALM 59:1-17
PROVERBS 11:14

NUMBERS 24:1-25:18
By now Balaam realized that the LORD intended to bless Israel, so he did not resort to divination as he often did. Instead, he turned and looked out toward the wilderness, 2 where he saw the people of Israel camped, tribe by tribe. Then the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and this is the prophecy he delivered: " This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor,
the prophecy of the man whose eyes see clearly,
4 who hears the words of God,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls down with eyes wide open:
5 How beautiful are your tents, O Jacob;
how lovely are your homes, O Israel!
6 They spread before me like groves of palms,
like fruitful gardens by the riverside.
They are like aloes planted by the LORD,
like cedars beside the waters.
7 Water will gush out in buckets;
their offspring are supplied with all they need.
Their king will be greater than Agag;
their kingdom will be exalted.
8 God brought them up from Egypt,
drawing them along like a wild ox.
He devours all the nations that oppose him,
breaking their bones in pieces,
shooting them with arrows.
9 Like a lion, Israel crouches and lies down;
like a lioness, who dares to arouse her?
Blessed is everyone who blesses you, O Israel,
and cursed is everyone who curses you."
10 King Balak flew into a rage against Balaam. He angrily clapped his hands and shouted, " I called you to curse my enemies! Instead, you have blessed them three times. 11 Now get out of here! Go back home! I had planned to reward you richly, but the LORD has kept you from your reward." 12 Balaam told Balak, " Don't you remember what I told your messengers? I said, 13 ` Even if Balak were to give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I am powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD.' I told you that I could say only what the LORD says! 14 Now I am returning to my own people. But first let me tell you what the Israelites will do to your people in the future." 15 This is the prophecy Balaam delivered: " This is the message of Balaam son of Beor,
the prophecy of the man whose eyes see clearly,
16 who hears the words of God,
who has knowledge from the Most High,
who sees a vision from the Almighty,
who falls down with eyes wide open:
17 I see him, but not in the present time.
I perceive him, but far in the distant future.
A star will rise from Jacob;
a scepter will emerge from Israel.
It will crush the foreheads of Moab's people,
cracking the skulls of the people of Sheth.
18 Edom will be taken over,
and Seir, its enemy, will be conquered,
while Israel continues on in triumph.
19 A ruler will rise in Jacob
who will destroy the survivors of Ir."
20 Then Balaam looked over at the people of Amalek and delivered this prophecy: " Amalek was the greatest of nations,
but its destiny is destruction!"
21 Then he looked over at the Kenites and prophesied: " You are strongly situated;
your nest is set in the rocks.
22 But the Kenites will be destroyed
when Assyria takes you captive."
23 Balaam concluded his prophecies by saying: " Alas, who can survive when God does this?
24 Ships will come from the coasts of Cyprus;
they will oppress both Assyria and Eber,
but they, too, will be utterly destroyed."
25 Then Balaam and Balak returned to their homes. 25:1 WHILE the Israelites were camped at Acacia, some of the men defiled themselves by sleeping with the local Moabite women. 2 These women invited them to attend sacrifices to their gods, and soon the Israelites were feasting with them and worshiping the gods of Moab. 3 Before long Israel was joining in the worship of Baal of Peor, causing the LORD's anger to blaze against his people. 4 The LORD issued the following command to Moses: " Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the LORD in broad daylight, so his fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel." 5 So Moses ordered Israel's judges to execute everyone who had joined in worshiping Baal of Peor. 6 Just then one of the Israelite men brought a Midianite woman into the camp, right before the eyes of Moses and all the people, as they were weeping at the entrance of the Tabernacle. 7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest saw this, he jumped up and left the assembly. Then he took a spear 8 and rushed after the man into his tent. Phinehas thrust the spear all the way through the man's body and into the woman's stomach. So the plague against the Israelites was stopped, 9 but not before 24,000 people had died. 10 Then the LORD said to Moses, 11 " Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites by displaying passionate zeal among them on my behalf. So I have stopped destroying all Israel as I had intended to do in my anger. 12 So tell him that I am making my special covenant of peace with him. 13 In this covenant, he and his descendants will be priests for all time, because he was zealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel." 14 The Israelite man killed with the Midianite woman was named Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a family from the tribe of Simeon. 15 The woman's name was Cozbi; she was the daughter of Zur, the leader of a Midianite clan. 16 Then the LORD said to Moses, 17 " Attack the Midianites and destroy them, 18 because they assaulted you with deceit by tricking you into worshiping Baal of Peor, and because of Cozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, who was killed on the day of the plague at Peor."

LUKE 2:1-35
At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. 2 (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 All returned to their own towns to register for this census. 4 And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. 5 He took with him Mary, his fiancé who was obviously pregnant by this time. 6 And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. 7 She gave birth to her first child, a son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the village inn. 8 That night some shepherds were in the fields outside the village, guarding their flocks of sheep. 9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They were terribly frightened, 10 but the angel reassured them. " Don't be afraid!" he said. " I bring you good news of great joy for everyone! 11 The Savior--yes, the Messiah, the Lord--has been born tonight in Bethlehem, the city of David! 12 And this is how you will recognize him: You will find a baby lying in a manger, wrapped snugly in strips of cloth!" 13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others--the armies of heaven--praising God:14 " Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and peace on earth to all whom God favors."
15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, " Come on, let's go to Bethlehem! Let's see this wonderful thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." 16 They ran to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. 17 Then the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. 18 All who heard the shepherds' story were astonished, 19 but Mary quietly treasured these things in her heart and thought about them often. 20 The shepherds went back to their fields and flocks, glorifying and praising God for what the angels had told them, and because they had seen the child, just as the angel had said. 21 Eight days later, when the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel even before he was conceived. 22 Then it was time for the purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child; so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. 23 The law of the Lord says, " If a woman's first child is a boy, he must be dedicated to the Lord." 24 So they offered a sacrifice according to what was required in the law of the Lord--" either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." 25 Now there was a man named Simeon who lived in Jerusalem. He was a righteous man and very devout. He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he eagerly expected the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. 26 The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah. 27 That day the Spirit led him to the Temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, 28 Simeon was there. He took the child in his arms and praised God, saying,29 " Lord, now I can die in peace!
As you promised me,
30 I have seen the Savior
31 you have given to all people.
32 He is a light to reveal God to the nations,
and he is the glory of your people Israel!"
33 Joseph and Mary were amazed at what was being said about Jesus. 34 Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, " This child will be rejected by many in Israel, and it will be their undoing. But he will be the greatest joy to many others. 35 Thus, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your very soul."

PSALM 59:1-17
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Saul sent soldiers to watch David's house in order to kill him. To be sung to the tune " Do Not Destroy!"
1 Rescue me from my enemies, O God.
Protect me from those who have come to destroy me.
2 Rescue me from these criminals;
save me from these murderers.
3 They have set an ambush for me.
Fierce enemies are out there waiting,
though I have done them no wrong, O LORD.
4 Despite my innocence, they prepare to kill me.
Rise up and help me! Look on my plight!
5 O LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel,
rise up to punish hostile nations.
Show no mercy to wicked traitors.
Interlude6 They come at night,
snarling like vicious dogs
as they prowl the streets.
7 Listen to the filth that comes from their mouths,
the piercing swords that fly from their lips.
" Who can hurt us?" they sneer.
8 But LORD, you laugh at them.
You scoff at all the hostile nations.
9 You are my strength; I wait for you to rescue me,
for you, O God, are my place of safety.
10 In his unfailing love, my God will come and help me.
He will let me look down in triumph on all my enemies.
11 Don't kill them, for my people soon forget such lessons;
stagger them with your power, and bring them to their knees,
O Lord our shield.
12 Because of the sinful things they say,
because of the evil that is on their lips,
let them be captured by their pride,
their curses, and their lies.
13 Destroy them in your anger!
Wipe them out completely!
Then the whole world will know
that God reigns in Israel.
Interlude14 My enemies come out at night,
snarling like vicious dogs
as they prowl the streets.
15 They scavenge for food
but go to sleep unsatisfied.
16 But as for me, I will sing about your power.
I will shout with joy each morning because of your unfailing love.
For you have been my refuge,
a place of safety in the day of distress.
17 O my Strength, to you I sing praises,
for you, O God, are my refuge,
the God who shows me unfailing love.

PROVERBS 11:14
Without wise leadership, a nation falls; with many counselors, there is safety.

March 15 Reading through the Bible Day 75

NUMBERS 22:21-23:30
LUKE 1:57-80
PSALM 58:1-11
PROVERBS 11:12-13

NUMBERS 22:21-23:30
So the next morning Balaam saddled his donkey and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was furious that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam's donkey suddenly saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the LORD stood at a place where the road narrowed between two vineyard walls. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing there, it tried to squeeze by and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall. So Balaam beat the donkey again. 26 Then the angel of the LORD moved farther down the road and stood in a place so narrow that the donkey could not get by at all. 27 This time when the donkey saw the angel, it lay down under Balaam. In a fit of rage Balaam beat it again with his staff. 28 Then the LORD caused the donkey to speak. " What have I done to you that deserves your beating me these three times?" it asked Balaam. 29 " Because you have made me look like a fool!" Balaam shouted. " If I had a sword with me, I would kill you!" 30 " But I am the same donkey you always ride on," the donkey answered. " Have I ever done anything like this before?" " No," he admitted. 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam fell face down on the ground before him. 32 " Why did you beat your donkey those three times?" the angel of the LORD demanded. " I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me. 33 Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey." 34 Then Balaam confessed to the angel of the LORD, " I have sinned. I did not realize you were standing in the road to block my way. I will go back home if you are against my going." 35 But the angel of the LORD told him, " Go with these men, but you may say only what I tell you to say." So Balaam went on with Balak's officials. 36 When King Balak heard that Balaam was on the way, he went out to meet him at a Moabite town on the Arnon River at the border of his land. 37 " Did I not send you an urgent invitation? Why didn't you come right away?" Balak asked Balaam. " Didn't you believe me when I said I would reward you richly?" 38 Balaam replied, " I have come, but I have no power to say just anything. I will speak only the messages that God gives me." 39 Then Balaam accompanied Balak to Kiriath-huzoth, 40 where the king sacrificed cattle and sheep. He sent portions of the meat to Balaam and the officials who were with him. 41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth-baal. From there he could see the people of Israel spread out below him.23:1 BALAAM said to King Balak, " Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice." 2 Balak followed his instructions, and the two of them sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, " Stand here by your burnt offerings, and I will go to see if the LORD will respond to me. Then I will tell you whatever he reveals to me." So Balaam went alone to the top of a hill, 4 and God met him there. Balaam said to him, " I have prepared seven altars and have sacrificed a young bull and a ram on each altar." 5 Then the LORD gave Balaam a message for King Balak and said, " Go back to Balak and tell him what I told you."6 When Balaam returned, the king was standing beside his burnt offerings with all the officials of Moab. 7 This was the prophecy Balaam delivered: " Balak summoned me to come from Aram;
the king of Moab brought me from the eastern hills.
` Come,' he said, ` curse Jacob for me!
Come and announce Israel's doom.'
8 But how can I curse
those whom God has not cursed?
How can I condemn
those whom the LORD has not condemned?
9 I see them from the cliff tops;
I watch them from the hills.
I see a people who live by themselves,
set apart from other nations.
10 Who can count Jacob's descendants, as numerous as dust?
Who can count even a fourth of Israel's people?
Let me die like the righteous;
let my life end like theirs."
11 Then King Balak demanded of Balaam, " What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies. Instead, you have blessed them!" 12 But Balaam replied, " Can I say anything except what the LORD tells me?" 13 Then King Balak told him, " Come with me to another place. There you will see only a portion of the nation of Israel. Curse at least that many!" 14 So Balak took Balaam to the plateau of Zophim on Pisgah Peak. He built seven altars there and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar. 15 Then Balaam said to the king, " Stand here by your burnt offering while I go to meet the LORD." 16 So the LORD met Balaam and gave him a message. Then he said, " Go back to Balak and give him this message." 17 So Balaam returned to the place where the king and the officials of Moab were standing beside Balak's burnt offerings. " What did the LORD say?" Balak asked eagerly. 18 This was the prophecy Balaam delivered: " Rise up, Balak, and listen!
Hear me, son of Zippor.
19 God is not a man, that he should lie.
He is not a human, that he should change his mind.
Has he ever spoken and failed to act?
Has he ever promised and not carried it through?
20 I received a command to bless;
he has blessed, and I cannot reverse it!
21 No misfortune is in sight for Jacob;
no trouble is in store for Israel.
For the LORD their God is with them;
he has been proclaimed their king.
22 God has brought them out of Egypt;
he is like a strong ox for them.
23 No curse can touch Jacob;
no sorcery has any power against Israel.
For now it will be said of Jacob,
` What wonders God has done for Israel!'
24 These people rise up like a lioness;
like a majestic lion they stand.
They refuse to rest
until they have feasted on prey,
drinking the blood of the slaughtered!"
25 Then Balak said to Balaam, " If you aren't going to curse them, at least don't bless them!" 26 But Balaam replied, " Didn't I tell you that I must do whatever the LORD tells me?" 27 Then King Balak said to Balaam, " Come, I will take you to yet another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them from there." 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, overlooking the wasteland. 29 Balaam again told Balak, " Build me seven altars and prepare me seven young bulls and seven rams for a sacrifice." 30 So Balak did as Balaam ordered and offered a young bull and a ram on each altar.

LUKE 1:57-80
Now it was time for Elizabeth's baby to be born, and it was a boy. 58 The word spread quickly to her neighbors and relatives that the Lord had been very kind to her, and everyone rejoiced with her. 59 When the baby was eight days old, all the relatives and friends came for the circumcision ceremony. They wanted to name him Zechariah, after his father. 60 But Elizabeth said, " No! His name is John!" 61 " What?" they exclaimed. " There is no one in all your family by that name." 62 So they asked the baby's father, communicating to him by making gestures. 63 He motioned for a writing tablet, and to everyone's surprise he wrote, " His name is John!" 64 Instantly Zechariah could speak again, and he began praising God.65 Wonder fell upon the whole neighborhood, and the news of what had happened spread throughout the Judean hills. 66 Everyone who heard about it reflected on these events and asked, " I wonder what this child will turn out to be? For the hand of the Lord is surely upon him in a special way." 67 Then his father, Zechariah, was filled with the Holy Spirit and gave this prophecy:68 " Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has visited his people and redeemed them.
69 He has sent us a mighty Savior
from the royal line of his servant David,
70 just as he promised
through his holy prophets long ago.
71 Now we will be saved from our enemies
and from all who hate us.
72 He has been merciful to our ancestors
by remembering his sacred covenant with them,
73 the covenant he gave to our ancestor Abraham.
74 We have been rescued from our enemies,
so we can serve God without fear,
75 in holiness and righteousness forever.
76 " And you, my little son,
will be called the prophet of the Most High,
because you will prepare the way for the Lord.
77 You will tell his people how to find salvation
through forgiveness of their sins.
78 Because of God's tender mercy,
the light from heaven is about to break upon us,
79 to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
and to guide us to the path of peace."
80 John grew up and became strong in spirit. Then he lived out in the wilderness until he began his public ministry to Israel.

PSALM 58:1-11
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be sung to the tune " Do Not Destroy!"
1 Justice--do you rulers know the meaning of the word?
Do you judge the people fairly?
2 No, all your dealings are crooked;
you hand out violence instead of justice.
3 These wicked people are born sinners;
even from birth they have lied and gone their own way.
4 They spit poison like deadly snakes;
they are like cobras that refuse to listen,
5 ignoring the tunes of the snake charmers,
no matter how skillfully they play.
6 Break off their fangs, O God!
Smash the jaws of these lions, O LORD!
7 May they disappear like water into thirsty ground.
Make their weapons useless in their hands.
8 May they be like snails that dissolve into slime,
like a stillborn child who will never see the sun.
9 God will sweep them away, both young and old,
faster than a pot heats on an open flame.
10 The godly will rejoice when they see injustice avenged.
They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then at last everyone will say,
" There truly is a reward for those who live for God;
surely there is a God who judges justly here on earth."

PROVERBS 11:12-13
It is foolish to belittle a neighbor; a person with good sense remains silent. A gossip goes around revealing secrets, but those who are trust- worthy can keep a confidence.

March 14 Reading through the Bible Day 74

NUMBERS 21:1-22:20
LUKE 1:26-56
PSALM 57:1-11
PROVERBS 11:9-11

NUMBERS 21:1-22:20
The Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were approaching on the road to Atharim. So he attacked the Israelites and took some of them as prisoners. 2 Then the people of Israel made this vow to the LORD: " If you will help us conquer these people, we will completely destroy all their towns." 3 The LORD heard their request and gave them victory over the Canaanites. The Israelites completely destroyed them and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah ever since. 4 Then the people of Israel set out from Mount Hor, taking the road to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom. But the people grew impatient along the way, 5 and they began to murmur against God and Moses. " Why have you brought us out of Egypt to die here in the wilderness?" they complained. " There is nothing to eat here and nothing to drink. And we hate this wretched manna!" 6 So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among them, and many of them were bitten and died. 7 Then the people came to Moses and cried out, " We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Pray that the LORD will take away the snakes." So Moses prayed for the people. 8 Then the LORD told him, " Make a replica of a poisonous snake and attach it to the top of a pole. Those who are bitten will live if they simply look at it!" 9 So Moses made a snake out of bronze and attached it to the top of a pole. Whenever those who were bitten looked at the bronze snake, they recovered! 10 The Israelites traveled next to Oboth and camped there. 11 Then they went on to Iye-abarim, in the wilderness on the eastern border of Moab. 12 From there they traveled to the valley of Zered Brook and set up camp. 13 Then they moved to the far side of the Arnon River, in the wilderness adjacent to the territory of the Amorites. The Arnon is the boundary line between the Moabites and the Amorites. 14 For this reason The Book of the Wars of the LORD speaks of " the town of Waheb in the area of Suphah, and the ravines; and the Arnon River 15 and its ravines, which extend as far as the settlement of Ar on the border of Moab." 16 From there the Israelites traveled to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, " Assemble the people, and I will give them water." 17 There the Israelites sang this song: " Spring up, O well!
Yes, sing about it!
18 Sing of this well,
which princes dug,
which great leaders hollowed out
with their scepters and staffs."
Then the Israelites left the wilderness and proceeded on through Mattanah, 19 Nahaliel, and Bamoth. 20 Then they went to the valley in Moab where Pisgah Peak overlooks the wasteland. 21 The Israelites now sent ambassadors to King Sihon of the Amorites with this message: 22 " Let us travel through your land. We will stay on the king's road until we have crossed your territory. We will not trample your fields or touch your vineyards or drink your well water."23 But King Sihon refused to let them cross his land. Instead, he mobilized his entire army and attacked Israel in the wilderness, engaging them in battle at Jahaz. 24 But the Israelites slaughtered them and occupied their land from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River. They went only as far as the Ammonite border because the boundary of the Ammonites was fortified. 25 So Israel captured all the towns of the Amorites and settled in them, including the city of Heshbon and its surrounding villages. 26 Heshbon had been the capital of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had conquered a former Moabite king and seized all his land as far as the Arnon River. 27 For this reason the ancient poets wrote this about him: " Come to Heshbon, city of Sihon!
May it be restored and rebuilt.
28 A fire flamed forth from Heshbon,
a blaze from the city of Sihon.
It burned the city of Ar in Moab;
it destroyed the rulers of the Arnon heights.
29 Your destruction is certain, O people of Moab!
You are finished, O worshipers of Chemosh!
Chemosh has left his sons as refugees,
and his daughters as captives of Sihon, the Amorite king.
30 We have utterly destroyed them,
all the way from Heshbon to Dibon.
We have completely wiped them out
as far away as Nophah and Medeba."
31 So the people of Israel occupied the territory of the Amorites. 32 After Moses sent men to explore the Jazer area, they captured all the towns in the region and drove out the Amorites who lived there. 33 Then they turned and marched toward Bashan, but King Og of Bashan and all his people attacked them at Edrei. 34 The LORD said to Moses, " Do not be afraid of him, for I have given you victory over Og and his entire army, giving you all his land. You will do the same to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon." 35 And Israel was victorious and killed King Og, his sons, and his subjects; not a single survivor remained. Then Israel occupied their land. 22:1 THEN the people of Israel traveled to the plains of Moab and camped east of the Jordan River, across from Jericho. 2 Balak son of Zippor, the Moabite king, knew what the Israelites had done to the Amorites. 3 And when they saw how many Israelites there were, he and his people were terrified. 4 The king of Moab said to the leaders of Midian, " This mob will devour everything in sight, like an ox devours grass!" So Balak, king of Moab, 5 sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor, who was living in his native land of Pethor near the Euphrates River. He sent this message to request that Balaam come to help him: " A vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt. They cover the face of the earth and are threatening me. 6 Please come and curse them for me because they are so numerous. Then perhaps I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land. I know that blessings fall on the people you bless. I also know that the people you curse are doomed."7 Balak's messengers, officials of both Moab and Midian, set out and took money with them to pay Balaam to curse Israel. They went to Balaam and urgently explained to him what Balak wanted. 8 " Stay here overnight," Balaam said. " In the morning I will tell you whatever the LORD directs me to say." So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam. 9 That night God came to Balaam and asked him, " Who are these men with you?" 10 So Balaam said to God, " Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 ` A vast horde of people has come from Egypt and has spread out over the whole land. Come at once to curse them. Perhaps then I will be able to conquer them and drive them from the land.' " 12 " Do not go with them," God told Balaam. " You are not to curse these people, for I have blessed them!"13 The next morning Balaam got up and told Balak's officials, " Go on home! The LORD will not let me go with you." 14 So the Moabite officials returned to King Balak and reported, " Balaam refused to come with us." 15 Then Balak tried again. This time he sent a larger number of even more distinguished officials than those he had sent the first time. 16 They went to Balaam and gave him this message: " This is what Balak son of Zippor says: Please don't let anything stop you from coming. 17 I will pay you well and do anything you ask of me. Just come and curse these people for me!"18 But Balaam answered them, " Even if Balak were to give me a palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my God. 19 But stay here one more night to see if the LORD has anything else to say to me." 20 That night God came to Balaam and told him, " Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But be sure to do only what I tell you to do."

LUKE 1:26-56
In the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, 27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. 28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, " Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!" 29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. 30 " Don't be frightened, Mary," the angel told her, " for God has decided to bless you! 31 You will become pregnant and have a son, and you are to name him Jesus. 32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!" 34 Mary asked the angel, " But how can I have a baby? I am a virgin." 35 The angel replied, " The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby born to you will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. 36 What's more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she's already in her sixth month. 37 For nothing is impossible with God." 38 Mary responded, " I am the Lord's servant, and I am willing to accept whatever he wants. May everything you have said come true." And then the angel left. 39 A few days later Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town 40 where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. 41 At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.42 Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, " You are blessed by God above all other women, and your child is blessed. 43 What an honor this is, that the mother of my Lord should visit me! 44 When you came in and greeted me, my baby jumped for joy the instant I heard your voice! 45 You are blessed, because you believed that the Lord would do what he said." 46 Mary responded, " Oh, how I praise the Lord.
47 How I rejoice in God my Savior!
48 For he took notice of his lowly servant girl,
and now generation after generation
will call me blessed.
49 For he, the Mighty One, is holy,
and he has done great things for me.
50 His mercy goes on from generation to generation,
to all who fear him.
51 His mighty arm does tremendous things!
How he scatters the proud and haughty ones!
52 He has taken princes from their thrones
and exalted the lowly.
53 He has satisfied the hungry with good things
and sent the rich away with empty hands.
54 And how he has helped his servant Israel!
He has not forgotten his promise to be merciful.
55 For he promised our ancestors--Abraham and his children--
to be merciful to them forever."
56 Mary stayed with Elizabeth about three months and then went back to her own home.

PSALM 57:1-11
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time he fled from Saul and went into the cave. To be sung to the tune " Do Not Destroy!"
1 Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy!
I look to you for protection.
I will hide beneath the shadow of your wings
until this violent storm ispast.
2 I cry out to God Most High,
to God who will fulfill his purpose for me.
3 He will send help from heaven to save me,
rescuing me from those who are out to get me.
Interlude My God will send forth his unfailing love and faithfulness.
4 I am surrounded by fierce lions
who greedily devour human prey--
whose teeth pierce like spears and arrows,
and whose tongues cut like swords.
5 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens!
May your glory shine over all the earth.
6 My enemies have set a trap for me.
I am weary from distress.
They have dug a deep pit in my path,
but they themselves have fallen into it.
Interlude7 My heart is confident in you, O God;
no wonder I can sing your praises!
8 Wake up, my soul!
Wake up, O harp and lyre!
I will waken the dawn with my song.
9 I will thank you, Lord, in front of all the people.
I will sing your praises among the nations.
10 For your unfailing love is as high as the heavens.
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
11 Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens.
May your glory shine over all the earth.

PROVERBS 11:9-11
Evil words destroy one's friends; wise discernment rescues the godly. The whole city celebrates when the godly succeed; they shout for joy when the godless die. Upright citizens bless a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart.

March 13 Reading through the Bible Day 73

NUMBERS 19:1-20:29
LUKE 1:1-25
PSALM 56:1-13
PROVERBS 11:8

NUMBERS 19:1-20:29
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 2 " Here is another ritual law required by the LORD: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer that has no physical defects and has never been yoked to a plow. 3 Give it to Eleazar the priest, and it will be taken outside the camp and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Eleazar will take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the front of the Tabernacle. 5 As Eleazar watches, the heifer must be burned--its hide, meat, blood, and dung. 6 Eleazar the priest must then take cedarwood, a hyssop branch, and scarlet thread and throw them into the fire where the heifer is burning. 7 " Then the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself in water. Afterward he may return to the camp, though he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. 8 The man who burns the animal must also wash his clothes and bathe in water, and he, too, will remain unclean until evening. 9 Then someone who is ceremonially clean will gather up the ashes of the heifer and place them in a purified place outside the camp. They will be kept there for the people of Israel to use in the water for the purification ceremony. This ceremony is performed for the removal of sin. 10 The man who gathers up the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he will remain ceremonially unclean until evening. This is a permanent law for the people of Israel and any foreigners who live among them.11 " All those who touch a dead human body will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. 12 They must purify themselves on the third and seventh days with the water of purification; then they will be purified. But if they do not do this on the third and seventh days, they will continue to be unclean even after the seventh day. 13 All those who touch a dead body and do not purify themselves in the proper way defile the LORD's Tabernacle and will be cut off from the community of Israel. Since the water of purification was not sprinkled on them, their defilement continues. 14 " This is the ritual law that applies when someone dies in a tent: Those who enter that tent, and those who were inside when the death occurred, will be ceremonially unclean for seven days. 15 Any container in the tent that was not covered with a lid is also defiled. 16 And if someone outdoors touches the corpse of someone who was killed with a sword or who died a natural death, or if someone touches a human bone or a grave, that person will be unclean for seven days. 17 " To remove the defilement, put some of the ashes from the burnt purification offering in a jar and pour fresh water over them. 18 Then someone who is ceremonially clean must take a hyssop branch and dip it into the water. That person must sprinkle the water on the tent, on all the furnishings in the tent, and on anyone who was in the tent, or anyone who has touched a human bone, or has touched a person who was killed or who died naturally, or has touched a grave. 19 On the third and seventh days the ceremonially clean person must sprinkle the water on those who are unclean. Then on the seventh day the people being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe themselves, and that evening they will be cleansed of their defilement.20 " But those who become defiled and do not purify themselves will be cut off from the community, for they have defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. Since the water of purification has not been sprinkled on them, they remain defiled. 21 This is a permanent law. Those who sprinkle the water of purification must afterward wash their clothes, and anyone who touches the water of purification will remain defiled until evening. 22 Anything and anyone that a defiled person touches will be ceremonially defiled until evening." 20:1 IN early spring the people of Israel arrived in the wilderness of Zin and camped at Kadesh. While they were there, Miriam died and was buried. 2 There was no water for the people to drink at that place, so they rebelled against Moses and Aaron. 3 The people blamed Moses and said, " We wish we had died in the LORD's presence with our brothers! 4 Did you bring the LORD's people into this wilderness to die, along with all our livestock? 5 Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us here to this terrible place? This land has no grain, figs, grapes, or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!" 6 Moses and Aaron turned away from the people and went to the entrance of the Tabernacle, where they fell face down on the ground. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to them, 7 and the LORD said to Moses, 8 " You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, command the rock over there to pour out its water. You will get enough water from the rock to satisfy all the people and their livestock." 9 So Moses did as he was told. He took the staff from the place where it was kept before the LORD. 10 Then he and Aaron summoned the people to come and gather at the rock. " Listen, you rebels!" he shouted. " Must we bring you water from this rock?" 11 Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with the staff, and water gushed out. So all the people and their livestock drank their fill. 12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, " Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!" 13 This place was known as the waters of Meribah, because it was where the people of Israel argued with the LORD, and where he demonstrated his holiness among them. 14 While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent ambassadors to the king of Edom with this message: " This message is from your relatives, the people of Israel: You know all the hardships we have been through, 15 and that our ancestors went down to Egypt. We lived there a long time and suffered as slaves to the Egyptians. 16 But when we cried out to the LORD, he heard us and sent an angel who brought us out of Egypt. Now we are camped at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won't even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king's road and never leave it until we have crossed the opposite border."18 But the king of Edom said, " Stay out of my land or I will meet you with an army!" 19 The Israelites answered, " We will stay on the main road. If any of our livestock drinks your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through your country and nothing else." 20 But the king of Edom replied, " Stay out! You may not pass through our land." With that he mobilized his army and marched out to meet them with an imposing force. 21 Because Edom refused to allow Israel to pass through their country, Israel was forced to turn around. 22 The whole community of Israel left Kadesh as a group and arrived at Mount Hor. 23 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor on the border of the land of Edom, 24 " The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He will not enter the land I am giving the people of Israel, because the two of you rebelled against my instructions concerning the waters of Meribah. 25 Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor. 26 There you will remove Aaron's priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, his son. Aaron will die there and join his ancestors." 27 So Moses did as the LORD commanded. The three of them went up Mount Hor together as the whole community watched. 28 At the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar, Aaron's son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down. 29 When the people realized that Aaron had died, all Israel mourned for him thirty days.

LUKE 1:1-25
Most honorable Theophilus: Many people have written accounts about the events that took place among us. 2 They used as their source material the reports circulating among us from the early disciples and other eyewitnesses of what God has done in fulfillment of his promises. 3 Having carefully investigated all of these accounts from the beginning, I have decided to write a careful summary for you, 4 to reassure you of the truth of all you were taught. 5 It all begins with a Jewish priest, Zechariah, who lived when Herod was king of Judea. Zechariah was a member of the priestly order of Abijah. His wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God's eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord's commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was barren, and now they were both very old. 8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary and burn incense in the Lord's presence. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.11 Zechariah was in the sanctuary when an angel of the Lord appeared, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was overwhelmed with fear. 13 But the angel said, " Don't be afraid, Zechariah! For God has heard your prayer, and your wife, Elizabeth, will bear you a son! And you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice with you at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or hard liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will persuade many Israelites to turn to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah, the prophet of old. He will precede the coming of the Lord, preparing the people for his arrival. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will change disobedient minds to accept godly wisdom."* 18 Zechariah said to the angel, " How can I know this will happen? I'm an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years." 19 Then the angel said, " I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 And now, since you didn't believe what I said, you won't be able to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly come true at the proper time." 21 Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out, wondering why he was taking so long. 22 When he finally did come out, he couldn't speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures that he must have seen a vision in the Temple sanctuary. 23 He stayed at the Temple until his term of service was over, and then he returned home. 24 Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. 25 " How kind the Lord is!" she exclaimed. " He has taken away my disgrace of having no children!"

PSALM 56:1-13
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time the Philistines seized him in Gath. To be sung to the tune " Dove on Distant Oaks."
1 O God, have mercy on me.
The enemy troops press in on me.
My foes attack me all day long.
2 My slanderers hound me constantly,
and many are boldly attacking me.
3 But when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4 O God, I praise your word.
I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
5 They are always twisting what I say;
they spend their days plotting ways to harm me.
6 They come together to spy on me--
watching my every step, eager to kill me.
7 Don't let them get away with their wickedness;
in your anger, O God, throw them to the ground.
8 You keep track of all my sorrows.
You have collected all my tears in your bottle.
You have recorded each one in your book.
9 On the very day I call to you for help,
my enemies will retreat.
This I know: God is on my side.
10 O God, I praise your word.
Yes, LORD, I praise your word.
11 I trust in God, so why should I be afraid?
What can mere mortals do to me?
12 I will fulfill my vows to you, O God,
and offer a sacrifice of thanks for your help.
13 For you have rescued me from death;
you have kept my feet from slipping.
So now I can walk in your presence, O God,
in your life-giving light.

PROVERBS 11:8
God rescues the godly from danger, but he lets the wicked fall into trouble.

March 12 Reading through the Bible Day 72

NUMBERS 16:41-18:32
MARK 16:1-20
PSALM 55:1-23
PROVERBS 11:7

NUMBERS 16:41-18:32
But the very next morning the whole community began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, " You two have killed the LORD's people!" 42 As the people gathered to protest to Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared. 43 Moses and Aaron came and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle, 44 and the LORD said to Moses, 45 " Get away from these people so that I can instantly destroy them!" But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, " Quick, take an incense burner and place burning coals on it from the altar. Lay incense on it and carry it quickly among the people to make atonement for them. The LORD's anger is blazing among them--the plague has already begun." 47 Aaron did as Moses told him and ran out among the people. The plague indeed had already begun, but Aaron burned the incense and made atonement for them. 48 He stood between the living and the dead until the plague was stopped. 49 But 14,700 people died in that plague, in addition to those who had died in the incident involving Korah. 50 Then because the plague had stopped, Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the Tabernacle.17:1 THEN the LORD said to Moses, 2 " Take twelve wooden staffs, one from each of Israel's ancestral tribes, and inscribe each tribal leader's name on his staff. 3 Inscribe Aaron's name on the staff of the tribe of Levi, for there must be one staff for the leader of each ancestral tribe. 4 Put these staffs in the Tabernacle in front of the Ark of the Covenant, where I meet with you. 5 Buds will sprout on the staff belonging to the man I choose. Then I will finally put an end to this murmuring and complaining against you." 6 So Moses gave the instructions to the people of Israel, and each of the twelve tribal leaders, including Aaron, brought Moses a staff. 7 Moses put the staffs in the LORD's presence in the Tabernacle of the Covenant. 8 When he went into the Tabernacle of the Covenant the next day, he found that Aaron's staff, representing the tribe of Levi, had sprouted, blossomed, and produced almonds! 9 When Moses brought all the staffs out from the LORD's presence, he showed them to the people. Each man claimed his own staff. 10 And the LORD said to Moses: " Place Aaron's staff permanently before the Ark of the Covenant as a warning to rebels. This should put an end to their complaints against me and prevent any further deaths." 11 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. 12 Then the people of Israel said to Moses, " We are as good as dead! We are ruined! 13 Everyone who even comes close to the Tabernacle of the LORD dies. We are all doomed!"18:1 THE LORD now said to Aaron: " You, your sons, and your relatives from the tribe of Levi will be held responsible for any offenses related to the sanctuary. But you and your sons alone will be held liable for violations connected with the priesthood. 2 " Bring your relatives of the tribe of Levi to assist you and your sons as you perform the sacred duties in front of the Tabernacle of the Covenant. 3 But as the Levites go about their duties under your supervision, they must be careful not to touch any of the sacred objects or the altar. If they do, both you and they will die. 4 The Levites must join with you to fulfill their responsibilities for the care and maintenance of the Tabernacle, but no one who is not a Levite may officiate with you. 5 " You yourselves must perform the sacred duties within the sanctuary and at the altar. If you follow these instructions, the LORD's anger will never again blaze against the people of Israel. 6 I myself have chosen your fellow Levites from among the Israelites to be your special assistants. They are dedicated to the LORD for service in the Tabernacle. 7 But you and your sons, the priests, must personally handle all the sacred service associated with the altar and everything within the inner curtain. I am giving you the priesthood as your special gift of service. Any other person who comes too near the sanctuary will be put to death." 8 The LORD gave these further instructions to Aaron: " I have put the priests in charge of all the holy gifts that are brought to me by the people of Israel. I have given these offerings to you and your sons as your regular share. 9 You are allotted the portion of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire. From all the most holy offerings--including the grain offerings, sin offerings, and guilt offerings--that portion belongs to you and your sons. 10 You must eat it as a most holy offering. All the males may eat of it, and you must treat it as most holy. 11 " All the other offerings presented to me by the Israelites by lifting them up before the altar also belong to you as your regular share. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean, male and female alike, may eat of these offerings. 12 " I also give you the harvest gifts brought by the people as offerings to the LORD--the best of the olive oil, wine, and grain. 13 All the firstfruits of the land that the people present to the LORD belong to you. Any member of your family who is ceremonially clean may eat this food. 14 " Whatever is specially set apart for the LORD also belongs to you. 15 " The firstborn of every mother, whether human or animal, that is offered to the LORD will be yours. But you must always redeem your firstborn sons and the firstborn males of ritually unclean animals. 16 Redeem them when they are one month old. The redemption price is five pieces of silver, each piece weighing the same as the standard sanctuary shekel. 17 " However, you may not redeem the firstborn of cattle, sheep, or goats. They are holy and have been set apart for the LORD. Sprinkle their blood on the altar, and burn their fat as an offering given by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 18 The meat of these animals will be yours, just like the breast and right thigh that are presented by lifting them up before the altar. 19 Yes, I am giving you all these holy offerings that the people of Israel bring to the LORD. They are for you and your sons and daughters, to be eaten as your regular share. This is an unbreakable covenant between the LORD and you and your descendants." 20 And the LORD said to Aaron, " You priests will receive no inheritance of land or share of property among the people of Israel. I am your inheritance and your share. 21 As for the tribe of Levi, your relatives, I will pay them for their service in the Tabernacle with the tithes from the entire land of Israel.22 " From now on, Israelites other than the priests and Levites are to stay away from the Tabernacle. If they come too near, they will be judged guilty and die. 23 The Levites must serve at the Tabernacle, and they will be held responsible for any offenses against it. This is a permanent law among you. But the Levites will receive no inheritance of land among the Israelites, 24 because I have given them the Israelites' tithes, which have been set apart as offerings to the LORD. This will be the Levites' share. That is why I said they would receive no inheritance of land among the Israelites." 25 The LORD also told Moses, 26 " Say this to the Levites: ` When you receive the tithes from the Israelites, give a tenth of the tithes you receive--a tithe of the tithe--to the LORD as a gift. 27 The LORD will consider this to be your harvest offering, as though it were the first grain from your own threshing floor or wine from your own winepress. 28 You must present one-tenth of the tithe received from the Israelites as a gift to the LORD. From this you must present the LORD's portion to Aaron the priest. 29 Be sure to set aside the best portions of the gifts given to you as your gifts to the LORD.' 30 " Also say to the Levites: ` When you present the best part, it will be considered as though it came from your own threshing floor or winepress. 31 You Levites and your families may eat this food anywhere you wish, for it is your compensation for serving in the Tabernacle. 32 You will not be considered guilty for accepting the LORD's tithes if you give the best portion to the priests. But be careful not to treat the holy gifts of the people of Israel as though they were common. If you do, you will die.' "

MARK 16:1-20
The next evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene and Salome and Mary the mother of James went out and purchased burial spices to put on Jesus' body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they came to the tomb. 3 On the way they were discussing who would roll the stone away from the entrance to the tomb. 4 But when they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone--a very large one--had already been rolled aside. 5 So they entered the tomb, and there on the right sat a young man clothed in a white robe. The women were startled, 6 but the angel said, " Do not be so surprised. You are looking for Jesus, the Nazarene, who was crucified. He isn't here! He has been raised from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body. 7 Now go and give this message to his disciples, including Peter: Jesus is going ahead of you to Galilee. You will see him there, just as he told you before he died!" 8 The women fled from the tomb, trembling and bewildered, saying nothing to anyone because they were too frightened to talk. [Shorter Ending of Mark] Then they reported all these instructions briefly to Peter and his companions. Afterward Jesus himself sent them out from east to west with the sacred and unfailing message of salvation that gives eternal life. Amen. [Longer Ending of Mark] 9 It was early on Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead, and the first person who saw him was Mary Magdalene, the woman from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and found the disciples, who were grieving and weeping. 11 But when she told them that Jesus was alive and she had seen him, they didn't believe her. 12 Afterward he appeared to two who were walking from Jerusalem into the country, but they didn't recognize him at first because he had changed his appearance. 13 When they realized who he was, they rushed back to tell the others, but no one believed them. 14 Still later he appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief--their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. 15 And then he told them, " Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. 16 Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. 17 These signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak new languages. 18 They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won't hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick and heal them." 19 When the Lord Jesus had finished talking with them, he was taken up into heaven and sat down in the place of honor at God's right hand. 20 And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked with them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.

PSALM 55:1-23
For the choir director: A psalm of David, to be accompanied by stringed instruments.
1 Listen to my prayer, O God.
Do not ignore my cry for help!
2 Please listen and answer me,
for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
3 My enemies shout at me,
making loud and wicked threats.
They bring trouble on me,
hunting me down in their anger.
4 My heart is in anguish.
The terror of death overpowers me.
5 Fear and trembling overwhelm me.
I can't stop shaking.
6 Oh, how I wish I had wings like a dove;
then I would fly away and rest!
7 I would fly far away
to the quiet of the wilderness.
Interlude8 How quickly I would escape--
far away from this wild storm of hatred.
9 Destroy them, Lord, and confuse their speech,
for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders,
but the real danger is wickedness within the city.
11 Murder and robbery are everywhere there;
threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.
12 It is not an enemy who taunts me--
I could bear that.
It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me--
I could have hidden from them.
13 Instead, it is you--my equal,
my companion and close friend.
14 What good fellowship we enjoyed
as we walked together to the house of God.
15 Let death seize my enemies by surprise;
let the grave swallow them alive,
for evil makes its home within them.
16 But I will call on God,
and the LORD will rescue me.
17 Morning, noon, and night
I plead aloud in my distress,
and the LORD hears my voice.
18 He rescues me and keeps me safe
from the battle waged against me,
even though many still oppose me.
19 God, who is king forever,
will hear me and will humble them.
Interlude For my enemies refuse to change their ways;
they do not fear God.
20 As for this friend of mine, he betrayed me;
he broke his promises.
21 His words are as smooth as cream,
but in his heart is war.
His words are as soothing as lotion,
but underneath are daggers!
22 Give your burdens to the LORD,
and he will take care of you.
He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
23 But you, O God, will send the wicked
down to the pit of destruction.
Murderers and liars will die young,
but I am trusting you to save me.

PROVERBS 11:7
When the wicked die, their hopes all perish, for they rely on their own feeble strength.

March 11 Reading through the Bible Day 71

NUMBERS 15:17-16:40
MARK 15:1-47
PSALM 54:1-7
PROVERBS 11:5-6

NUMBERS 15:17-16:40
The LORD also said to Moses at this time, 18 " Give the people of Israel the following instructions: When you arrive in the land where I am taking you, 19 you will eat from the crops that grow there. But you must set some aside as a gift to the LORD. 20 Present a cake from the first of the flour you grind and set it aside as a gift, as you do with the first grain from the threshing floor. 21 Throughout the generations to come, you are to present this offering to the LORD each year from the first of your ground flour. 22 " But suppose some of you unintentionally fail to carry out all these commands that the LORD has given you through Moses. 23 And suppose some of your descendants in the future fail to do everything the LORD has commanded through Moses. 24 If the mistake was done unintentionally, and the community was unaware of it, the whole community must present a young bull for a burnt offering. It will be pleasing to the LORD, and it must be offered along with the prescribed grain offering and drink offering and with one male goat for a sin offering. 25 With it the priest will make atonement for the whole community of Israel, and they will be forgiven. For it was an unintentional sin, and they have corrected it with their offering given to the LORD by fire and by their sin offering. 26 The whole community of Israel will be forgiven, including the foreigners living among you, for the entire population was involved in the sin. 27 " If the unintentional sin is committed by an individual, the guilty person must bring a one-year-old female goat for a sin offering. 28 The priest will make atonement for the guilty person before the LORD, and that person will be forgiven. 29 This same law applies both to native Israelites and the foreigners living among you.30 " But those who brazenly violate the LORD's will, whether native Israelites or foreigners, blaspheme the LORD, and they must be cut off from the community. 31 Since they have treated the LORD's word with contempt and deliberately disobeyed his commands, they must be completely cut off and suffer the consequences of their guilt." 32 One day while the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they caught a man gathering wood on the Sabbath day. 33 He was apprehended and taken before Moses, Aaron, and the rest of the community. 34 They held him in custody because they did not know what to do with him. 35 Then the LORD said to Moses, " The man must be put to death! The whole community must stone him outside the camp." 36 So the whole community took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, just as the LORD had commanded Moses. 37 And the LORD said to Moses, 38 " Say to the people of Israel: ` Throughout the generations to come you must make tassels for the hems of your clothing and attach the tassels at each corner with a blue cord. 39 The tassels will remind you of the commands of the LORD, and that you are to obey his commands instead of following your own desires and going your own ways, as you are prone to do. 40 The tassels will help you remember that you must obey all my commands and be holy to your God. 41 I am the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt that I might be your God. I am the LORD your God!' "16:1 ONE day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben. 2 They incited a rebellion against Moses, involving 250 other prominent leaders, all members of the assembly. 3 They went to Moses and Aaron and said, " You have gone too far! Everyone in Israel has been set apart by the LORD, and he is with all of us. What right do you have to act as though you are greater than anyone else among all these people of the LORD?" 4 When Moses heard what they were saying, he threw himself down with his face to the ground. 5 Then he said to Korah and his followers, " Tomorrow morning the LORD will show us who belongs to him and who is holy. The LORD will allow those who are chosen to enter his holy presence. 6 You, Korah, and all your followers must do this: Take incense burners, 7 and burn incense in them tomorrow before the LORD. Then we will see whom the LORD chooses as his holy one. You Levites are the ones who have gone too far!" 8 Then Moses spoke again to Korah: " Now listen, you Levites! 9 Does it seem a small thing to you that the God of Israel has chosen you from among all the people of Israel to be near him as you serve in the LORD's Tabernacle and to stand before the people to minister to them? 10 He has given this special ministry only to you and your fellow Levites, but now you are demanding the priesthood as well! 11 The one you are really revolting against is the LORD! And who is Aaron that you are complaining about him?" 12 Then Moses summoned Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, but they replied, " We refuse to come! 13 Isn't it enough that you brought us out of Egypt, a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us here in this wilderness, and that you now treat us like your subjects? 14 What's more, you haven't brought us into the land flowing with milk and honey or given us an inheritance of fields and vineyards. Are you trying to fool us? We will not come." 15 Then Moses became very angry and said to the LORD, " Do not accept their offerings! I have not taken so much as a donkey from them, and I have never hurt a single one of them." 16 And Moses said to Korah, " Come here tomorrow and present yourself before the LORD with all your followers. Aaron will also be here. 17 Be sure that each of your 250 followers brings an incense burner with incense on it, so you can present them before the LORD. Aaron will also bring his incense burner." 18 So these men came with their incense burners, placed burning coals and incense on them, and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle with Moses and Aaron. 19 Meanwhile, Korah had stirred up the entire community against Moses and Aaron, and they all assembled at the Tabernacle entrance. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to the whole community, 20 and the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 21 " Get away from these people so that I may instantly destroy them!" 22 But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground. " O God, the God and source of all life," they pleaded. " Must you be angry with all the people when only one man sins?" 23 And the LORD said to Moses, 24 " Then tell all the people to get away from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram." 25 So Moses got up and rushed over to the tents of Dathan and Abiram, followed closely by the Israelite leaders. 26 " Quick!" he told the people. " Get away from the tents of these wicked men, and don't touch anything that belongs to them. If you do, you will be destroyed for their sins." 27 So all the people stood back from the tents of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. Then Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the entrances of their tents with their wives and children and little ones.28 And Moses said, " By this you will know that the LORD has sent me to do all these things that I have done--for I have not done them on my own. 29 If these men die a natural death, then the LORD has not sent me. 30 But if the LORD performs a miracle and the ground opens up and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have despised the LORD." 31 He had hardly finished speaking the words when the ground suddenly split open beneath them. 32 The earth opened up and swallowed the men, along with their households and the followers who were standing with them, and everything they owned. 33 So they went down alive into the grave, along with their belongings. The earth closed over them, and they all vanished. 34 All of the people of Israel fled as they heard their screams, fearing that the earth would swallow them, too. 35 Then fire blazed forth from the LORD and burned up the 250 men who were offering incense. 36 And the LORD said to Moses, 37 " Tell Eleazar son of Aaron the priest to pull all the incense burners from the fire, for they are holy. Also tell him to scatter the burning incense 38 from the burners of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives. He must then hammer the metal of the incense burners into a sheet as a covering for the altar, for these burners have become holy because they were used in the LORD's presence. The altar covering will then serve as a warning to the people of Israel."39 So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and they were hammered out into a sheet of metal to cover the altar. 40 This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized man--no one who was not a descendant of Aaron--should ever enter the LORD's presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. Thus, the LORD's instructions to Moses were carried out.

MARK 15:1-47
Very early in the morning the leading priests, other leaders, and teachers of religious law--the entire high council--met to discuss their next step. They bound Jesus and took him to Pilate, the Roman governor. 2 Pilate asked Jesus, " Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus replied, " Yes, it is as you say." 3 Then the leading priests accused him of many crimes, 4 and Pilate asked him, " Aren't you going to say something? What about all these charges against you?" 5 But Jesus said nothing, much to Pilate's surprise.6 Now it was the governor's custom to release one prisoner each year at Passover time--anyone the people requested. 7 One of the prisoners at that time was Barabbas, convicted along with others for murder during an insurrection. 8 The mob began to crowd in toward Pilate, asking him to release a prisoner as usual. 9 " Should I give you the King of the Jews?" Pilate asked. 10 (For he realized by now that the leading priests had arrested Jesus out of envy.) 11 But at this point the leading priests stirred up the mob to demand the release of Barabbas instead of Jesus. 12 " But if I release Barabbas," Pilate asked them, " what should I do with this man you call the King of the Jews?" 13 They shouted back, " Crucify him!" 14 " Why?" Pilate demanded. " What crime has he committed?" But the crowd only roared the louder, " Crucify him!" 15 So Pilate, anxious to please the crowd, released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify him. 16 The soldiers took him into their headquarters and called out the entire battalion. 17 They dressed him in a purple robe and made a crown of long, sharp thorns and put it on his head. 18 Then they saluted, yelling, " Hail! King of the Jews!" 19 And they beat him on the head with a stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship. 20 When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. 21 A man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the country just then, and they forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon is the father of Alexander and Rufus.) 22 And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which means Skull Hill). 23 They offered him wine drugged with myrrh, but he refused it. 24 Then they nailed him to the cross. They gambled for his clothes, throwing dice to decide who would get them.25 It was nine o'clock in the morning when the crucifixion took place. 26 A signboard was fastened to the cross above Jesus' head, announcing the charge against him. It read: " The King of the Jews." 27 Two criminals were crucified with him, their crosses on either side of his. 29 And the people passing by shouted abuse, shaking their heads in mockery. " Ha! Look at you now!" they yelled at him. " You can destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days, can you? 30 Well then, save yourself and come down from the cross!" 31 The leading priests and teachers of religious law also mocked Jesus. " He saved others," they scoffed, " but he can't save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down from the cross so we can see it and believe him!" Even the two criminals who were being crucified with Jesus ridiculed him. 33 At noon, darkness fell across the whole land until three o'clock. 34 Then, at that time Jesus called out with a loud voice, " Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?" which means, " My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" 35 Some of the bystanders misunderstood and thought he was calling for the prophet Elijah. 36 One of them ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, holding it up to him on a stick so he could drink. " Leave him alone. Let's see whether Elijah will come and take him down!" he said. 37 Then Jesus uttered another loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain in the Temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 When the Roman officer who stood facing him saw how he had died, he exclaimed, " Truly, this was the Son of God!" 40 Some women were there, watching from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of James the younger and of Joseph), and Salome. 41 They had been followers of Jesus and had cared for him while he was in Galilee. Then they and many other women had come with him to Jerusalem. 42 This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached, 43 an honored member of the high council, Joseph from Arimathea (who was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come), gathered his courage and went to Pilate to ask for Jesus' body. 44 Pilate couldn't believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman military officer in charge and asked him. 45 The officer confirmed the fact, and Pilate told Joseph he could have the body. 46 Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth, and taking Jesus' body down from the cross, he wrapped it in the cloth and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance. 47 Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus' body was laid.

PSALM 54:1-7
For the choir director: A meditation of David, regarding the time the Ziphites came and said to Saul, " We know where David is hiding." To be accompanied by stringed instruments.
1 Come with great power, O God, and rescue me!
Defend me with your might.
2 O God, listen to my prayer.
Pay attention to my plea.
3 For strangers are attacking me;
violent men are trying to kill me.
They care nothing for God.
Interlude4 But God is my helper.
The Lord is the one who keeps me alive!
5 May my enemies' plans for evil be turned against them.
Do as you promised and put an end to them.
6 I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you;
I will praise your name, O LORD,
for it is good.
7 For you will rescue me from my troubles
and help me to triumph over my enemies.

PROVERBS 11:5-6
The godly are directed by their honesty; the wicked fall beneath their load of sin. The godliness of good people rescues them; the ambition of treacherous people traps them.

March 10 Reading through the Bible Day 70

NUMBERS 14:1-15:16
MARK 14:53-72
PSALM 53:1-6
PROVERBS 11:4

NUMBERS 14:1-15:16
Then all the people began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of complaint against Moses and Aaron. " We wish we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!" they wailed. 3 " Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and little ones will be carried off as slaves! Let's get out of here and return to Egypt!" 4 Then they plotted among themselves, " Let's choose a leader and go back to Egypt!" 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the people of Israel. 6 Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7 They said to the community of Israel, " The land we explored is a wonderful land! 8 And if the LORD is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey, and he will give it to us! 9 Do not rebel against the LORD, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don't be afraid of them!"10 But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites from above the Tabernacle. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, " How long will these people reject me? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation far greater and mightier than they are!" 13 " But what will the Egyptians think when they hear about it?" Moses pleaded with the LORD. " They know full well the power you displayed in rescuing these people from Egypt. 14 They will tell this to the inhabitants of this land, who are well aware that you are with this people. They know, LORD, that you have appeared in full view of your people in the pillar of cloud that hovers over them. They know that you go before them in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you slaughter all these people, the nations that have heard of your fame will say, 16 ` The LORD was not able to bring them into the land he swore to give them, so he killed them in the wilderness.'17 " Please, Lord, prove that your power is as great as you have claimed it to be. For you said, 18 ` The LORD is slow to anger and rich in unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. Even so he does not leave sin unpunished, but he punishes the children for the sins of their parents to the third and fourth generations.' 19 Please pardon the sins of this people because of your magnificent, unfailing love, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt." 20 Then the LORD said, " I will pardon them as you have requested. 21 But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD's glory, 22 not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they tested me by refusing to listen. 23 They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will enter it. 24 But my servant Caleb is different from the others. He has remained loyal to me, and I will bring him into the land he explored. His descendants will receive their full share of that land. 25 Now turn around and don't go on toward the land where the Amalekites and Canaanites live. Tomorrow you must set out for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea." 26 Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 27 " How long will this wicked nation complain about me? I have heard everything the Israelites have been saying. 28 Now tell them this: ` As surely as I live, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. I, the LORD, have spoken! 29 You will all die here in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, none of you who are twenty years old or older and were counted in the census 30 will enter the land I swore to give you. The only exceptions will be Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.31 " ` You said your children would be taken captive. Well, I will bring them safely into the land, and they will enjoy what you have despised. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies will fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children will be like shepherds, wandering in the wilderness forty years. In this way, they will pay for your faithlessness, until the last of you lies dead in the wilderness. 34 " ` Because the men who explored the land were there for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years--a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. You will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.' 35 I, the LORD, have spoken! I will do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will all die here in this wilderness!" 36 Then the ten scouts who had incited the rebellion against the LORD by spreading discouraging reports about the land 37 were struck dead with a plague before the LORD. 38 Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive.39 When Moses reported the LORD's words to the Israelites, there was much sorrow among the people. 40 So they got up early the next morning and set out for the hill country of Canaan. " Let's go," they said. " We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us." 41 But Moses said, " Why are you now disobeying the LORD's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work. 42 Do not go into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you. 43 When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The LORD will abandon you because you have abandoned the LORD." 44 But the people pushed ahead toward the hill country of Canaan, despite the fact that neither Moses nor the Ark of the LORD's covenant left the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in those hills came down and attacked them and chased them as far as Hormah.15:1 THE LORD told Moses to give these instructions to the people of Israel: 2 " When you finally settle in the land I am going to give you, 3 and you want to please the LORD with a burnt offering or any other offering given by fire, the sacrifice must be an animal from your flocks of sheep and goats or from your herds of cattle. When it is an ordinary burnt offering, a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, a freewill offering, or a special sacrifice at any of the annual festivals, 4 whoever brings it must also give to the LORD a grain offering of two quarts of choice flour mixed with one quart of olive oil. 5 For each lamb offered as a whole burnt offering, you must also present one quart of wine for a drink offering. 6 " If the sacrifice is a ram, give three quarts of choice flour mixed with two and a half pints of olive oil, 7 and give two and a half pints of wine for a drink offering. This sacrifice will be very pleasing to the LORD. 8 " When you present a young bull as a burnt offering or a sacrifice in fulfillment of a special vow or as a peace offering to the LORD, 9 then the grain offering accompanying it must include five quarts of choice flour mixed with two quarts of olive oil, 10 plus two quarts of wine for the drink offering. This will be an offering made by fire, very pleasing to the LORD. 11 " These are the instructions for what is to accompany each sacrificial bull, ram, lamb, or young goat. 12 Each of you must do this with each offering you present. 13 If you native Israelites want to present an offering by fire that is pleasing to the LORD, you must follow all these instructions. 14 And if any foreigners living among you want to present an offering by fire, pleasing to the LORD, they must follow the same procedures. 15 Native Israelites and foreigners are the same before the LORD and are subject to the same laws. This is a permanent law for you. 16 The same instructions and regulations will apply both to you and to the foreigners living among you."

MARK 14:53-72
Jesus was led to the high priest's home where the leading priests, other leaders, and teachers of religious law had gathered. 54 Meanwhile, Peter followed far behind and then slipped inside the gates of the high priest's courtyard. For a while he sat with the guards, warming himself by the fire. 55 Inside, the leading priests and the entire high council were trying to find witnesses who would testify against Jesus, so they could put him to death. But their efforts were in vain. 56 Many false witnesses spoke against him, but they contradicted each other. 57 Finally, some men stood up to testify against him with this lie: 58 " We heard him say, ` I will destroy this Temple made with human hands, and in three days I will build another, made without human hands.' " 59 But even then they didn't get their stories straight!60 Then the high priest stood up before the others and asked Jesus, " Well, aren't you going to answer these charges? What do you have to say for yourself?" 61 Jesus made no reply. Then the high priest asked him, " Are you the Messiah, the Son of the blessed God?" 62 Jesus said, " I am, and you will see me, the Son of Man, sitting at God's right hand in the place of power and coming back on the clouds of heaven." 63 Then the high priest tore his clothing to show his horror and said, " Why do we need other witnesses? 64 You have all heard his blasphemy. What is your verdict?" And they all condemned him to death. 65 Then some of them began to spit at him, and they blindfolded him and hit his face with their fists. " Who hit you that time, you prophet?" they jeered. And even the guards were hitting him as they led him away. 66 Meanwhile, Peter was below in the courtyard. One of the servant girls who worked for the high priest 67 noticed Peter warming himself at the fire. She looked at him closely and then said, " You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazarene." 68 Peter denied it. " I don't know what you're talking about," he said, and he went out into the entryway. Just then, a rooster crowed. 69 The servant girl saw him standing there and began telling the others, " That man is definitely one of them!" 70 Peter denied it again.A little later some other bystanders began saying to Peter, " You must be one of them because you are from Galilee." 71 Peter said, " I swear by God, I don't know this man you're talking about." 72 And immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Suddenly, Jesus' words flashed through Peter's mind: " Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." And he broke down and cried.
PSALM 53:1-6
For the choir director: A meditation of David.
1 Only fools say in their hearts,
" There is no God."
They are corrupt, and their actions are evil;
no one does good!
2 God looks down from heaven
on the entire human race;
he looks to see if there is even one with real understanding,
one who seeks for God.
3 But no, all have turned away from God;
all have become corrupt.
No one does good,
not even one!
4 Will those who do evil never learn?
They eat up my people like bread;
they wouldn't think of praying to God.
5 But then terror will grip them,
terror like they have never known before.
God will scatter the bones of your enemies.
You will put them to shame, for God has rejected them.
6 Oh, that salvation would come from Mount Zion to rescue Israel!
For when God restores his people,
Jacob will shout with joy, and Israel will rejoice.

PROVERBS 11:4
Riches won't help on the day of judgment, but right living is a safeguard against death.

March 9 Reading through the Bible Day 69

NUMBERS 11:24-13:33
MARK 14:22-52
PSALM 52:1-9
PROVERBS 11:1-3

NUMBERS 11:24-13:33
So Moses went out and reported the LORD's words to the people. Then he gathered the seventy leaders and stationed them around the Tabernacle. 25 And the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to Moses. He took some of the Spirit that was upon Moses and put it upon the seventy leaders. They prophesied as the Spirit rested upon them, but that was the only time this happened. 26 Two men, Eldad and Medad, were still in the camp when the Spirit rested upon them. They were listed among the leaders but had not gone out to the Tabernacle, so they prophesied there in the camp. 27 A young man ran and reported to Moses, " Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp!" 28 Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses' personal assistant since his youth, protested, " Moses, my master, make them stop!" 29 But Moses replied, " Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his Spirit upon them all!" 30 Then Moses returned to the camp with the leaders of Israel. 31 Now the LORD sent a wind that brought quail from the sea and let them fall into the camp and all around it! For many miles in every direction from the camp there were quail flying about three feet above the ground. 32 So the people went out and caught quail all that day and throughout the night and all the next day, too. No one gathered less than fifty bushels! They spread the quail out all over the camp. 33 But while they were still eating the meat, the anger of the LORD blazed against the people, and he caused a severe plague to break out among them. 34 So that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah--" the graves of craving"--because they buried the people there who had craved meat from Egypt. 35 From there the Israelites traveled to Hazeroth, where they stayed for some time.12:1 WHILE they were at Hazeroth, Miriam and Aaron criticized Moses because he had married a Cushite woman. 2 They said, " Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he spoken through us, too?" But the LORD heard them. 3 Now Moses was more humble than any other person on earth. 4 So immediately the LORD called to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam and said, " Go out to the Tabernacle, all three of you!" And the three of them went out. 5 Then the LORD descended in the pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the Tabernacle. " Aaron and Miriam!" he called, and they stepped forward. 6 And the LORD said to them, " Now listen to me! Even with prophets, I the LORD communicate by visions and dreams. 7 But that is not how I communicate with my servant Moses. He is entrusted with my entire house. 8 I speak to him face to face, directly and not in riddles! He sees the LORD as he is. Should you not be afraid to criticize him?" 9 The LORD was furious with them, and he departed. 10 As the cloud moved from above the Tabernacle, Miriam suddenly became white as snow with leprosy. When Aaron saw what had happened, 11 he cried out to Moses, " Oh, my lord! Please don't punish us for this sin we have so foolishly committed. 12 Don't let her be like a stillborn baby, already decayed at birth." 13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, " Heal her, O God, I beg you!" 14 And the LORD said to Moses, " If her father had spit in her face, wouldn't she have been defiled for seven days? Banish her from the camp for seven days, and after that she may return." 15 So Miriam was excluded from the camp for seven days, and the people waited until she was brought back before they traveled again. 16 Then they left Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran.13:1 THE LORD now said to Moses, 2 " Send men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to Israel. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes." 3 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. 4 These were the tribes and the names of the leaders: Tribe Leader Reuben Shammua son of Zaccur 5 Simeon Shaphat son of Hori 6 Judah Caleb son of Jephunneh 7 Issachar Igal son of Joseph 8 Ephraim Hoshea son of Nun 9 Benjamin Palti son of Raphu 10 Zebulun Gaddiel son of Sodi 11 Manasseh son of Joseph Gaddi son of Susi 12 Dan Ammiel son of Gemalli 13 Asher Sethur son of Michael 14 Naphtali Nahbi son of Vophsi 15 Gad Geuel son of Maki16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. By this time Moses had changed Hoshea's name to Joshua. 17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: " Go northward through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls or are they unprotected? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Enter the land boldly, and bring back samples of the crops you see." (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) 21 So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going northward, they passed first through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai--all descendants of Anak--lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When they came to what is now known as the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also took samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24 At that time the Israelites renamed the valley Eshcol--" cluster"--because of the cluster of grapes they had cut there. 25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned 26 to Moses, Aaron, and the people of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27 This was their report to Moses: " We arrived in the land you sent us to see, and it is indeed a magnificent country--a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit as proof. 28 But the people living there are powerful, and their cities and towns are fortified and very large. We also saw the descendants of Anak who are living there! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley." 30 But Caleb tried to encourage the people as they stood before Moses. " Let's go at once to take the land," he said. " We can certainly conquer it!" 31 But the other men who had explored the land with him answered, " We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!" 32 So they spread discouraging reports about the land among the Israelites: " The land we explored will swallow up any who go to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. We felt like grasshoppers next to them, and that's what we looked like to them!"

MARK 14:22-52
As they [the disciples] were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread and asked God's blessing on it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, " Take it, for this is my body." 23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, " This is my blood, poured out for many, sealing the covenant between God and his people. 25 I solemnly declare that I will not drink wine again until that day when I drink it new in the Kingdom of God." 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 " All of you will desert me," Jesus told them. "For the Scriptures say, ` God will strike the Shepherd,
and the sheep will be scattered.'
28 But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there." 29 Peter said to him, " Even if everyone else deserts you, I never will." 30 " Peter," Jesus replied, " the truth is, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times." 31 " No!" Peter insisted. " Not even if I have to die with you! I will never deny you!" And all the others vowed the same.32 And they came to an olive grove called Gethsemane, and Jesus said, " Sit here while I go and pray." 33 He took Peter, James, and John with him, and he began to be filled with horror and deep distress. 34 He told them, " My soul is crushed with grief to the point of death. Stay here and watch with me." 35 He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground. He prayed that, if it were possible, the awful hour awaiting him might pass him by. 36 " Abba, Father," he said, " everything is possible for you. Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will, not mine." 37 Then he returned and found the disciples asleep. " Simon!" he said to Peter. " Are you asleep? Couldn't you stay awake and watch with me even one hour? 38 Keep alert and pray. Otherwise temptation will overpower you. For though the spirit is willing enough, the body is weak." 39 Then Jesus left them again and prayed, repeating his pleadings. 40 Again he returned to them and found them sleeping, for they just couldn't keep their eyes open. And they didn't know what to say. 41 When he returned to them the third time, he said, " Still sleeping? Still resting? Enough! The time has come. I, the Son of Man, am betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42 Up, let's be going. See, my betrayer is here!" 43 And immediately, as he said this, Judas, one of the twelve disciples, arrived with a mob that was armed with swords and clubs. They had been sent out by the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders. 44 Judas had given them a prearranged signal: " You will know which one to arrest when I go over and give him the kiss of greeting. Then you can take him away under guard." 45 As soon as they arrived, Judas walked up to Jesus. " Teacher!" he exclaimed, and gave him the kiss. 46 Then the others grabbed Jesus and arrested him. 47 But someone pulled out a sword and slashed off an ear of the high priest's servant.48 Jesus asked them, " Am I some dangerous criminal, that you come armed with swords and clubs to arrest me? 49 Why didn't you arrest me in the Temple? I was there teaching every day. But these things are happening to fulfill what the Scriptures say about me." 50 Meanwhile, all his disciples deserted him and ran away. 51 There was a young man following along behind, clothed only in a linen nightshirt. When the mob tried to grab him, 52 they tore off his clothes, but he escaped and ran away naked.

PSALM 52:1-9
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Doeg the Edomite told Saul that Ahimelech had given refuge to David.
1 You call yourself a hero, do you?
Why boast about this crime of yours,
you who have disgraced God's people?
2 All day long you plot destruction.
Your tongue cuts like a sharp razor;
you're an expert at telling lies.
3 You love evil more than good
and lies more than truth.
Interlude4 You love to say things that harm others,
you liar!
5 But God will strike you down once and for all.
He will pull you from your home
and drag you from the land of the living.
Interlude6 The righteous will see it and be amazed.
They will laugh and say,
7 " Look what happens to mighty warriors
who do not trust in God.
They trust their wealth instead
and grow more and more bold in their wickedness."
8 But I am like an olive tree,
thriving in the house of God.
I trust in God's unfailing love
forever and ever.
9 I will praise you forever, O God,
for what you have done.
I will wait for your mercies
in the presence of your people.


PROVERBS 11:1-3
The LORD hates cheating, but he delights in honesty. Pride leads to disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Good people are guided by their honesty; treacherous people are destroyed by their dishonesty.