Daily Readings for April 18
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Deuteronomy 1

 

1.These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel beyond the Jordan in the wilderness, in the Arabah over against Suph, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2.It is eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. 3.It happened in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Yahweh¹ had given him in commandment to them; 4.after he had struck Sihon the king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who lived in Ashtaroth, at Edrei. 5.Beyond the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to declare this law, saying, 6."Yahweh our God² spoke to us in Horeb, saying, You have lived long enough in this mountain: 7.turn, and take your journey, and go to the hill country of the Amorites, and to all the places near there, in the Arabah, in the hill country, and in the lowland, and in the South, and by the seashore, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates. 8.Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give to them and to their seed after them."

9.I spoke to you at that time, saying, "I am not able to bear you myself alone: 10.Yahweh your God has multiplied you, and behold, you are this day as the stars of the sky for multitude. 11.Yahweh, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times as many as you are, and bless you, as he has promised you! 12.How can I myself alone bear your encumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? 13.Take wise men of understanding and well known according to your tribes, and I will make them heads over you."

14.You answered me, and said, "The thing which you have spoken is good to do." 15.So I took the heads of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers, according to your tribes. 16.I commanded your judges at that time, saying, "Hear cases between your brothers, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and the foreigner who is living with him. 17.You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small and the great alike; you shall not be afraid of the face of man; for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, you shall bring to me, and I will hear it." 18.I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do. 19.We traveled from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw, by the way to the hill country of the Amorites, as Yahweh our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20.I said to you, "You have come to the hill country of the Amorites, which Yahweh our God gives to us. 21.Behold, Yahweh your God has set the land before you: go up, take possession, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has spoken to you; don't be afraid, neither be dismayed."

22.You came near to me everyone of you, and said, "Let us send men before us, that they may search the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up, and the cities to which we shall come."

23.The thing pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one man for every tribe: 24.and they turned and went up into the hill country, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25.They took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought us word again, and said, "It is a good land which Yahweh our God gives to us."

26.Yet you wouldn't go up, but rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh your God: 27.and you murmured in your tents, and said, "Because Yahweh hated us, he has brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28.Where are we going up? our brothers have made our heart to melt, saying, 'The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to the sky; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.'"

29.Then I said to you, "Don't dread, neither be afraid of them. 30.Yahweh your God who goes before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31.and in the wilderness, where you have seen how that Yahweh your God bore you, as a man does bear his son, in all the way that you went, until you came to this place."

32.Yet in this thing you didn't believe Yahweh your God, 33.who went before you in the way, to seek you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to show you by what way you should go, and in the cloud by day. 34.Yahweh heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying, 35."Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land, which I swore to give to your fathers, 36.except Caleb the son of Jephunneh: he shall see it; and to him will I give the land that he has trodden on, and to his children, because he has wholly followed Yahweh."

37.Also Yahweh was angry with me for your sakes, saying, "You also shall not go in there: 38.Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there: encourage you him; for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39.Moreover your little ones, whom you said should be a prey, and your children, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, they shall go in there, and to them will I give it, and they shall possess it. 40.But as for you, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea³."

41.Then you answered and said to me, "We have sinned against Yahweh, we will go up and fight, according to all that Yahweh our God commanded us." Every man of you put on his weapons of war, and presumed to go up into the hill country.

42.Yahweh said to me, "Tell them, 'Don't go up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest you be struck before your enemies.'"

43.So I spoke to you, and you didn't listen; but you rebelled against the commandment of Yahweh, and were presumptuous, and went up into the hill country. 44.The Amorites, who lived in that hill country, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and beat you down in Seir, even to Hormah. 45.You returned and wept before Yahweh; but Yahweh didn't listen to your voice, nor gave ear to you. 46.So you stayed in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you remained.

 

Proverbs 28

 

1.The wicked flee when no one pursues; but the righteous are as bold as a lion. 2.In rebellion, a land has many rulers, but order is maintained by a man of understanding and knowledge. 3.A needy man who oppresses the poor is like a driving rain which leaves no crops. 4.Those who forsake the law praise the wicked; but those who keep the law contend with them. 5.Evil men don't understand justice; but those who seek Yahweh understand it fully. 6.Better is the poor who walks in his integrity, than he who is perverse in his ways, and he is rich. 7.Whoever keeps the law is a wise son; but he who is a companion of gluttons shames his father. 8.He who increases his wealth by excessive interest gathers it for one who has pity on the poor. 9.He who turns away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer is an abomination. 10.Whoever causes the upright to go astray in an evil way, he will fall into his own trap; but the blameless will inherit good. 11.The rich man is wise in his own eyes; but the poor who has understanding sees through him. 12.When the righteous triumph, there is great glory; but when the wicked rise, men hide themselves. 13.He who conceals his sins doesn't prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. 14.Blessed is the man who always fears; but one who hardens his heart falls into trouble. 15.As a roaring lion or a charging bear, so is a wicked ruler over helpless people. 16.A tyrannical ruler lacks judgment. One who hates ill-gotten gain will have long days. 17.A man who is tormented by life blood will be a fugitive until death; no one will support him. 18.Whoever walks blamelessly is kept safe; but one with perverse ways will fall suddenly. 19.One who works his land will have an abundance of food; but one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty. 20.A faithful man is rich with blessings; but one who is eager to be rich will not go unpunished. 21.To show partiality is not good; yet a man will do wrong for a piece of bread. 22.A stingy man hurries after riches, and doesn't know that poverty waits for him. 23.One who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than one who flatters with the tongue. 24.Whoever robs his father or his mother, and says, "It's not wrong." He is a partner with a destroyer. 25.One who is greedy stirs up strife; but one who trusts in Yahweh will prosper. 26.One who trusts in himself is a fool; but one who walks in wisdom is kept safe. 27.One who gives to the poor has no lack; but one who closes his eyes will have many curses. 28.When the wicked rise, men hide themselves; but when they perish, the righteous thrive.

 

John 11

 

1.Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus from Bethany, of the village of Mary and her sister, Martha. 2.It was that Mary who had anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother, Lazarus, was sick. 3.The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, "Lord, behold, he for whom you have great affection is sick." 4.But when Jesus heard it, he said, "This sickness is not to death, but for the glory of God, that God's Son may be glorified by it." 5.Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. 6.When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. 7.Then after this he said to the disciples, "Let's go into Judea again."

8.The disciples told him, "Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, and are you going there again?"

9.Jesus answered, "Aren't there twelve hours of daylight? If a man walks in the day, he doesn't stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10.But if a man walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light isn't in him." 11.He said these things, and after that, he said to them, "Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep."

12.The disciples therefore said, "Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover."

13.Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that he spoke of taking rest in sleep. 14.So Jesus said to them plainly then, "Lazarus is dead. 15.I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let's go to him."

16.Thomas therefore, who is called Didymus,³⁵ said to his fellow disciples, "Let's go also, that we may die with him."

17.So when Jesus came, he found that he had been in the tomb four days already. 18.Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about fifteen stadia³⁶ away. 19.Many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother. 20.Then when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went and met him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21.Therefore Martha said to Jesus, "Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn't have died. 22.Even now I know that, whatever you ask of God, God will give you." 23.Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

24.Martha said to him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

25.Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will still live, even if he dies. 26.Whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"

27.She said to him, "Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God's Son, he who comes into the world."

28.When she had said this, she went away, and called Mary, her sister, secretly, saying, "The Teacher is here, and is calling you."

29.When she heard this, she arose quickly, and went to him. 30.Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was in the place where Martha met him. 31.Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, saying, "She is going to the tomb to weep there." 32.Therefore when Mary came to where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn't have died."

33.When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, 34.and said, "Where have you laid him?"

They told him, "Lord, come and see."

35.Jesus wept.

36.The Jews therefore said, "See how much affection he had for him!" 37.Some of them said, "Couldn't this man, who opened the eyes of him who was blind, have also kept this man from dying?"

38.Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39.Jesus said, "Take away the stone."

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days."

40.Jesus said to her, "Didn't I tell you that if you believed, you would see God's glory?"

41.So they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying.³⁷ Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, "Father, I thank you that you listened to me. 42.I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude that stands around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me." 43.When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!"

44.He who was dead came out, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth.

Jesus said to them, "Free him, and let him go."

45.Therefore many of the Jews, who came to Mary and saw what Jesus did, believed in him. 46.But some of them went away to the Pharisees, and told them the things which Jesus had done. 47.The chief priests therefore and the Pharisees gathered a council, and said, "What are we doing? For this man does many signs. 48.If we leave him alone like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation."

49.But a certain one of them, Caiaphas, being high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all, 50.nor do you consider that it is advantageous for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish." 51.Now he didn't say this of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52.and not for the nation only, but that he might also gather together into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. 53.So from that day forward they took counsel that they might put him to death. 54.Jesus therefore walked no more openly among the Jews, but departed from there into the country near the wilderness, to a city called Ephraim. He stayed there with his disciples.

55.Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand. Many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. 56.Then they sought for Jesus and spoke one with another, as they stood in the temple, "What do you think--that he isn't coming to the feast at all?" 57.Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had commanded that if anyone knew where he was, he should report it, that they might seize him.

 

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