Bible Reading Plan

Offering First Fruits

¹ "Then it shall be, when you enter the land which the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you take possession of it and live in it,² that you shall take some of ^(C1)the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the LORD your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and ^(C2)go to the place where the LORD your God chooses to establish His name.³ "And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, 'I declare today to the LORD ^(F1)my God that I have entered the land which the LORD swore to our fathers to give us.'⁴ "Then the priest shall take the basket from your hand and set it before the altar of the LORD your God.⁵ "And you shall respond and say before the LORD your God, '^(C1)My father was a ^(F1)wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and ^(F2)resided there, ^(C2)few in number; but there he became a ^(C3)great, mighty, and populous nation.⁶ 'And the ^(C1)Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us.⁷ 'Then ^(C1)we cried out to the LORD, the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice and saw our wretched condition, our trouble, and our oppression;^8 (C1)and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs and wonders;⁹ and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, ^(C1)a land flowing with milk and honey.¹⁰ 'And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground ^(C1)which You, LORD have given me.' Then you shall set it before the LORD your God, and worship before the LORD your God;¹¹ and you, ^(C1)the Levite, and the stranger who is among you shall ^(C2)rejoice in all the good which the LORD your God has given you and your household.

¹² "^(C1)When you have finished paying all the tithe of your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, then you shall give it to the Levite, to the stranger, to the ^(F1)orphan, and to the widow, so that they may eat in your ^(F2)towns and be satisfied.¹³ "And you shall say before the LORD your God, 'I have removed the sacred portion from my house, and have also given it to the Levite, the stranger, the ^(F1)orphan, and the widow, in accordance with all Your commandments which You have commanded me; ^(C1)I have not violated or forgotten any of Your commandments.¹⁴ 'I have not eaten of it while mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean, nor offered any of it to the dead. I have listened to the voice of the LORD my God; I have acted in accordance with everything that You have commanded me.¹⁵ '^(C1)Look down from Your holy dwelling place, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel, and the ground which You have given us, ^(C2)a land flowing with milk and honey just as You swore to our fathers.'

¹⁶ "This day the LORD your God commands you to perform these statutes and ordinances. Therefore you shall be careful to perform them ^(C1)with all your heart and with all your soul.¹⁷ "^(C1)Today you have declared the LORD to be your God, and ^(F1)that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His ordinances, and listen to His voice.¹⁸ "And the LORD has today declared you to be ^(C1)His people, His personal possession, just as He promised you, and ^(F1)that you are to keep all His commandments;¹⁹ and ^(F1)that He will ^(C1)put you high above all the nations which He has made, for glory, fame, and honor; and that you shall be ^(C2)a consecrated people to the LORD your God, just as He has spoken."

Chapter 7

Jesus Heals a Centurion's Slave

^1 (C1)When He had completed all His ^(F1)teaching in the hearing of the people, ^(C2)He went to Capernaum.

² Now a centurion's slave, who was highly regarded by him, was sick and about to die.³ When he heard about Jesus, ^(C1)he sent some ^(F1)Jewish elders to Him, asking Him to come and save the life of his slave.⁴ When they came to Jesus, they strongly urged Him, saying, "He is worthy for You to grant this to him;⁵ for he loves our nation, and it was he who built us our synagogue."⁶ Now Jesus started on His way with them; but already, when He was not yet far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, "^(F1)Lord, do not trouble Yourself further, for I am not worthy for You to enter under my roof;⁷ for that reason I did not even consider myself worthy to come to You; but just ^(F1)say the word, and my servant ^(F2)shall be healed.⁸ "For I also am a man placed under authority, with soldiers under myself; and I say to this one, 'Go!' and he goes, and to another, 'Come!' and he comes, and to my slave, 'Do this!' and he does it."⁹ Now when Jesus heard this, He was amazed at him, and turned and said to the crowd that was following Him, "I say to you, ^(C1)not even in Israel have I found such great faith."¹⁰ And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the slave in good health.

¹¹ Soon afterward Jesus went to a city called Nain; and His disciples were going along with Him, ^(F1)accompanied by a large crowd.¹² Now as He approached the gate of the city, ^(F1)a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a sizeable crowd from the city was with her.¹³ When ^(C1)the Lord saw her, He felt compassion for her and said to her, "Do not go on weeping."¹⁴ And He came up and touched the coffin; and the bearers came to a halt. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise!"¹⁵ And the dead man sat up and began to speak. And Jesus gave him back to his mother.^16 (C1)Fear gripped them all, and they began ^(C2)glorifying God, saying, "A great ^(C3)prophet has appeared among us!" and, "God has ^(F1)visited His people!"^17 (C1)And this report about Him spread throughout Judea and in all the surrounding region.

The Messengers from John

^18 (C1)The disciples of John also reported to him about all these things.¹⁹ And after summoning ^(F1)two of his disciples, John sent them to ^(C1)the Lord, saying, "Are You the Coming One, or are we to ^(F2)look for another?"²⁰ When the men came to Him, they said, "John the Baptist has sent us to You, ^(F1)to ask, 'Are You the Coming One, or are we to ^(F2)look for another?'"²¹ At that very ^(F1)time He ^(C1)cured many people of diseases and ^(C2)afflictions and evil spirits; and He gave sight to many who were blind.²² And He answered and said to them, "Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: people who were ^(C1)blind receive sight, people who limped walk, people with leprosy are cleansed and people who were deaf hear, dead people are raised up, and ^(C2)people who are poor have the gospel preached to them.²³ "And blessed is ^(F1)anyone who does not take offense at Me."

²⁴ When the messengers of John had left, He began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the ^(F1)wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?²⁵ "^(F1)But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who are splendidly clothed and live in luxury are found in royal palaces!²⁶ "But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet.²⁷ "This is the one about whom it is written:

'^(C1)BEHOLD, I AM SENDING MY MESSENGER ^(F1)AHEAD OF YOU,
WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY BEFORE YOU.'