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Daily Readings for February 8
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Exodus 16
1.They took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came to the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. 2.The whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness; 3.and the children of Israel said to them, "We wish that we had died by the hand of Yahweh in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots, when we ate our fill of bread, for you have brought us out into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger."
4.Then Yahweh said to Moses, "Behold, I will rain bread from the sky for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day's portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. 5.It shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily."
6.Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening, then you shall know that Yahweh has brought you out from the land of Egypt; 7.and in the morning, then you shall see the glory of Yahweh; because he hears your murmurings against Yahweh. Who are we, that you murmur against us?" 8.Moses said, "Now Yahweh shall give you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to satisfy you; because Yahweh hears your murmurings which you murmur against him. And who are we? Your murmurings are not against us, but against Yahweh." 9.Moses said to Aaron, "Tell all the congregation of the children of Israel, 'Come near before Yahweh, for he has heard your murmurings.'" 10.It happened, as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of Yahweh appeared in the cloud. 11.Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 12."I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel. Speak to them, saying, 'At evening you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread: and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God.'"
13.It happened at evening that quail came up and covered the camp; and in the morning the dew lay around the camp. 14.When the dew that lay had gone, behold, on the surface of the wilderness was a small round thing, small as the frost on the ground. 15.When the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, "What is it?" For they didn't know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread which Yahweh has given you to eat." 16.This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded: "Gather of it everyone according to his eating; an omer11 a head, according to the number of your persons, you shall take it, every man for those who are in his tent." 17.The children of Israel did so, and gathered some more, some less. 18.When they measured it with an omer, he who gathered much had nothing over, and he who gathered little had no lack. They gathered every man according to his eating. 19.Moses said to them, "Let no one leave of it until the morning." 20.Notwithstanding they didn't listen to Moses, but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and became foul: and Moses was angry with them. 21.They gathered it morning by morning, everyone according to his eating. When the sun grew hot, it melted. 22.It happened that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one, and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. 23.He said to them, "This is that which Yahweh has spoken, 'Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and all that remains over lay up for yourselves to be kept until the morning.'" 24.They laid it up until the morning, as Moses asked, and it didn't become foul, neither was there any worm in it. 25.Moses said, "Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field. 26.Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none." 27.It happened on the seventh day, that some of the people went out to gather, and they found none. 28.Yahweh said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws? 29.Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh day." 30.So the people rested on the seventh day.
31.The house of Israel called its name Manna,12 and it was like coriander seed, white; and its taste was like wafers with honey. 32.Moses said, "This is the thing which Yahweh has commanded, 'Let an omer-full of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.'" 33.Moses said to Aaron, "Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it up before Yahweh, to be kept throughout your generations." 34.As Yahweh commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept. 35.The children of Israel ate the manna forty years, until they came to an inhabited land. They ate the manna until they came to the borders of the land of Canaan. 36.Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.13
Psalm 70
1.Hurry, God, to deliver me. Come quickly to help me, Yahweh. 2.Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul. Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace. 3.Let them be turned because of their shame Who say, "Aha! Aha!" 4.Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. Let those who love your salvation continually say, "Let God be exalted!" 5.But I am poor and needy. Come to me quickly, God. You are my help and my deliverer. Yahweh, don't delay.
Psalm 71
1.In you, Yahweh, I take refuge. Never let me be disappointed. 2.Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me. Turn your ear to me, and save me. 3.Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go. Give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. 4.Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man. 5.For you are my hope, Lord Yahweh; my confidence from my youth. 6.I have relied on you from the womb. You are he who took me out of my mother's womb. I will always praise you. 7.I am a marvel to many, but you are my strong refuge. 8.My mouth shall be filled with your praise, with your honor all the day. 9.Don't reject me in my old age. Don't forsake me when my strength fails. 10.For my enemies talk about me. Those who watch for my soul conspire together, 11.saying, "God has forsaken him. Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him." 12.God, don't be far from me. My God, hurry to help me. 13.Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed. Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me. 14.But I will always hope, and will add to all of your praise. 15.My mouth will tell about your righteousness, and of your salvation all day, though I don't know its full measure. 16.I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh. I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone. 17.God, you have taught me from my youth. Until now, I have declared your wondrous works. 18.Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don't forsake me, until I have declared your strength to the next generation, your might to everyone who is to come. 19.Your righteousness also, God, reaches to the heavens; you have done great things. God, who is like you? 20.You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles, you will let me live. You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth. 21.Increase my honor, and comfort me again. 22.I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God. I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel. 23.My lips shall shout for joy! My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you! 24.My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long, for they are disappointed, and they are confounded, who want to harm me.
Mark 4
1.Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea. 2.He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching, 3."Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow, 4.and it happened, as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds6 came and devoured it. 5.Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil. 6.When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7.Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8.Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some brought forth thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much." 9.He said, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear."
10.When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11.He said to them, "To you is given the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables, 12.that 'seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.'"7
13.He said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables? 14.The farmer sows the word. 15.The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16.These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17.They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble. 18.Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word, 19.and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20.Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times."
21.He said to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket8 or under a bed? Isn't it put on a stand? 22.For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. 23.If any man has ears to hear, let him hear."
24.He said to them, "Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who hear. 25.For whoever has, to him will more be given, and he who doesn't have, even that which he has will be taken away from him."
26.He said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth, 27.and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn't know how. 28.For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29.But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come."
30.He said, "How will we liken the Kingdom of God? Or with what parable will we illustrate it? 31.It's like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth, 32.yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow."
33.With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34.Without a parable he didn't speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
35.On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let's go over to the other side." 36.Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him. 37.A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled. 38.He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, "Teacher, don't you care that we are dying?"
39.He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40.He said to them, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?"
41.They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"