The One Year Bible TLB (27 page)

Psalm 25:15-22

My eyes are ever looking to the Lord for help, for he alone can rescue me.
16
 Come, Lord, and show me your mercy, for I am helpless, overwhelmed, in deep distress;
17
 my problems go from bad to worse. Oh, save me from them all!
18
 See my sorrows; feel my pain; forgive my sins.
19
 See how many enemies I have and how viciously they hate me!
20
 Save me from them! Deliver my life from their power! Oh, let it never be said that I trusted you in vain!

21
 Assign me Godliness and Integrity as my bodyguards, for I expect you to protect me
22
 and to ransom Israel from all her troubles.

Proverbs 6:12-15

Let me describe for you a worthless and a wicked man; first, he is a constant liar; he signals his true intentions to his friends with eyes and feet and fingers.
14
 He is always thinking up new schemes to swindle people. He stirs up trouble everywhere.
15
 But he will be destroyed suddenly, broken beyond hope of healing.

Exodus 13:17–15:18

Matthew 21:23-46

Psalm 26:1-12

Proverbs 6:16-19

Exodus 13:17–15:18

So at last Pharaoh let the people go.

God did not lead them through the land of the Philistines, although that was the most direct route from Egypt to the Promised Land. The reason was that God felt the people might become discouraged by having to fight their way through, even though they had left Egypt armed; he thought they might return to Egypt. Instead, God led them along a route through the Red Sea wilderness.

19
 Moses took the bones of Joseph with them, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel vow before God that they would take his bones with them when God led them out of Egypt—as he was sure God would.

20
 Leaving Succoth, they camped in Etham at the edge of the wilderness.
21
 The Lord guided them by a pillar of cloud during the daytime and by a pillar of fire at night. So they could travel either by day or night.
22
 The cloud and fire were never out of sight.

14:
1
 Jehovah now instructed Moses,
2
 “Tell the people to turn toward Piha-hiroth between Migdol and the sea, opposite Baal-zephon, and to camp there along the shore.
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 For Pharaoh will think, ‘Those Israelites are trapped now, between the desert and the sea!’
4
 And once again I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will chase after you. I have planned this to gain great honor and glory over Pharaoh and all his armies, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord.”

So they camped where they were told.

5
 When word reached the king of Egypt that the Israelis were not planning to return to Egypt after three days, but to keep on going, Pharaoh and his staff became bold again. “What is this we have done, letting all these slaves get away?” they asked.
6
 So Pharaoh led the chase in his chariot,
7
 followed by the pick of Egypt’s chariot corps—600 chariots in all—and other chariots driven by Egyptian officers.
8
 He pursued the people of Israel, for they had taken much of the wealth of Egypt with them.
9
 Pharaoh’s entire cavalry—horses, chariots, and charioteers—was used in the chase; and the Egyptian army overtook the people of Israel as they were camped beside the shore near Piha-hiroth, across from Baal-zephon.

10
 As the Egyptian army approached, the people of Israel saw them far in the distance, speeding after them, and they were terribly frightened and cried out to the Lord to help them.

11
 And they turned against Moses, whining, “Have you brought us out here to die in the desert because there were not enough graves for us in Egypt? Why did you make us leave Egypt?
12
 Isn’t this what we told you, while we were slaves, to leave us alone? We said it would be better to be slaves to the Egyptians than dead in the wilderness.”

13
 But Moses told the people, “Don’t be afraid. Just stand where you are and watch, and you will see the wonderful way the Lord will rescue you today. The Egyptians you are looking at—you will never see them again.
14
 The Lord will fight for you, and you won’t need to lift a finger!”
*

15
 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Quit praying and get the people moving! Forward, march!
16
 Use your rod—hold it out over the water, and the sea will open up a path before you, and all the people of Israel shall walk through on dry ground!
17
 I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they will go in after you and you will see the honor I will get in defeating Pharaoh and all his armies, chariots, and horsemen.
18
 And all Egypt shall know that I am Jehovah.”

19
 Then the Angel of God, who was leading the people of Israel, moved the cloud around behind them,
20
 and it stood between the people of Israel and the Egyptians. And that night, as it changed to a pillar of fire, it gave darkness to the Egyptians but light to the people of Israel! So the Egyptians couldn’t find the Israelis!

21
 Meanwhile, Moses stretched his rod over the sea, and the Lord opened up a path through the sea, with walls of water on each side; and a strong east wind blew all that night, drying the sea bottom.
22
 So the people of Israel walked through the sea on dry ground!
23
 Then the Egyptians followed them between the walls of water along the bottom of the sea—all of Pharaoh’s horses, chariots, and horsemen.
24
 But in the early morning Jehovah looked down from the cloud of fire upon the array of the Egyptians, and began to harass them.
25
 Their chariot wheels began coming off, so that their chariots scraped along the dry ground. “Let’s get out of here,” the Egyptians yelled. “Jehovah is fighting for them and against us.”

26
 When all the Israelites were on the other side,
*
the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand again over the sea, so that the waters will come back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”
27
 Moses did, and the sea returned to normal beneath the morning light. The Egyptians tried to flee, but the Lord drowned them in the sea.
28
 The water covered the path and the chariots and horsemen. And of all the army of Pharaoh that chased after Israel through the sea, not one remained alive.

29
 The people of Israel had walked through on dry land, and the waters had been walled up on either side of them.
30
 Thus Jehovah saved Israel that day from the Egyptians; and the people of Israel saw the Egyptians dead, washed up on the seashore.
31
 When the people of Israel saw the mighty miracle the Lord had done for them against the Egyptians, they were afraid and revered the Lord, and believed in him and in his servant Moses.

15:
1
 Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord:

I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously;

He has thrown both horse and rider into the sea.

2
 The Lord is my strength, my song, and my salvation.

He is my God, and I will praise him.

He is my father’s God—I will exalt him.

3
 The Lord is a warrior—

Yes, Jehovah is his name.

4
 He has overthrown Pharaoh’s chariots and armies,

Drowning them in the sea.

The famous Egyptian captains are dead beneath the waves.

5
 The water covers them.

They went down into the depths like a stone.

6
 Your right hand, O Lord, is glorious in power;

It dashes the enemy to pieces.

7
 In the greatness of your majesty

You overthrew all those who rose against you.

You sent forth your anger, and it consumed them as fire consumes straw.

8
 At the blast of your breath

The waters divided!

They stood as solid walls to hold the seas apart.

9
 The enemy said, “I will chase after them,

Catch up with them, destroy them.

I will cut them apart with my sword

And divide the captured booty.”

10
 But God blew with his wind, and the sea covered them.

They sank as lead in the mighty waters.

11
 Who else is like the Lord among the gods?

Who is glorious in holiness like him?

Who is so awesome in splendor,

A wonder-working God?

12
 You reached out your hand and the earth swallowed them.

13
 You have led the people you redeemed.

But in your loving-kindness

You have guided them wonderfully

To your holy land.

14
 The nations heard what happened, and they trembled.

Fear has gripped the people of Philistia.

15
 The leaders of Edom are appalled,

The mighty men of Moab tremble;

All the people of Canaan melt with fear.

16
 Terror and dread have overcome them.

O Lord, because of your great power they won’t attack us!

Your people whom you purchased

Will pass by them in safety.

17
 You will bring them in and plant them on your mountain,

Your own homeland, Lord—

The sanctuary you made for them to live in.

18
 Jehovah shall reign forever and forever.

Matthew 21:23-46

When he [Jesus] had returned to the Temple and was teaching, the chief priests and other Jewish leaders came up to him and demanded to know by whose authority he had thrown out the merchants the day before.
*

24
 
“I’ll tell you if you answer one question first,”
Jesus replied.
25
 
“Was John the Baptist sent from God or not?”

They talked it over among themselves. “If we say, ‘From God,’” they said, “then he will ask why we didn’t believe what John said.
26
 And if we deny that God sent him, we’ll be mobbed, for the crowd all think he was a prophet.”
27
 So they finally replied, “We don’t know!”

And Jesus said,
“Then I won’t answer your question either.

28
 
“But what do you think about this? A man with two sons told the older boy, ‘Son, go out and work on the farm today.’
29
 
‘I won’t,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30
 
Then the father told the youngest, ‘You go!’ and he said, ‘Yes, sir, I will.’ But he didn’t.
31
 
Which of the two was obeying his father?”

They replied, “The first, of course.”

Then Jesus explained his meaning:
“Surely evil men and prostitutes will get into the Kingdom before you do.
32
 
For John the Baptist told you to repent and turn to God, and you wouldn’t, while very evil men and prostitutes did. And even when you saw this happening, you refused to repent, and so you couldn’t believe.

33
 
“Now listen to this story: A certain landowner planted a vineyard with a hedge around it, and built a platform for the watchman, then leased the vineyard to some farmers on a sharecrop basis, and went away to live in another country.

34
 
“At the time of the grape harvest he sent his agents to the farmers to collect his share.
35
 
But the farmers attacked his men, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.

36
 
“Then he sent a larger group of his men to collect for him, but the results were the same.
37
 
Finally the owner sent his son, thinking they would surely respect him.

38
 
“But when these farmers saw the son coming, they said among themselves, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate; come on, let’s kill him and get it for ourselves!’
39
 
So they dragged him out of the vineyard and killed him.

40
 
“When the owner returns, what do you think he will do to those farmers?”

41
 The Jewish leaders replied, “He will put the wicked men to a horrible death and lease the vineyard to others who will pay him promptly.”

42
 Then Jesus asked them,
“Didn’t you ever read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone rejected by the builders has been made the honored cornerstone;
*
how remarkable! what an amazing thing the Lord has done’?

43
 
“What I mean is that the Kingdom of God shall be taken away from you, and given to a nation that will give God his share of the crop.
*
44
 
All who stumble on this rock of truth
*
shall be broken, but those it falls on will be scattered as dust.”

45
 When the chief priests and other Jewish leaders realized that Jesus was talking about them—that they were the farmers in his story—
46
 they wanted to get rid of him but were afraid to try because of the crowds, for they accepted Jesus as a prophet.

Psalm 26:1-12

Dismiss all the charges against me, Lord, for I have tried to keep your laws and have trusted you without wavering.
2
 Cross-examine me, O Lord, and see that this is so; test my motives and affections too.
3
 For I have taken your loving-kindness and your truth as my ideals.
4
 I do not have fellowship with tricky, two-faced men; they are false and hypocritical.
5
 I hate the sinners’ hangouts and refuse to enter them.
6
 I wash my hands to prove my innocence and come before your altar,
7
 singing a song of thanksgiving and telling about your miracles.

8
 Lord, I love your home, this shrine where the brilliant, dazzling splendor of your presence lives.

9-10
 Don’t treat me as a common sinner or murderer who plots against the innocent and demands bribes.

11
 No, I am not like that, O Lord; I try to walk a straight and narrow path of doing what is right; therefore in mercy save me.

12
 I publicly praise the Lord for keeping me from slipping and falling.