the Fifth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
April 21 - Bible-in-a-Year
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Joshua 1-2
Chapter 1
God's Orders to Joshua
1 Now it came about after the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, that the LORD spoke to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' (F1)servant, saying,2 "Moses (C1)My servant is dead; so now arise, (C2)cross this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, to the sons of Israel.3 "(C1)Every place on which the sole of your foot steps, I have given it to you, just as I spoke to Moses.4 "(C1)From the wilderness and this Lebanon, even as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and as far as the Great Sea toward the setting of the sun will be your territory.5 "(C1)No one will be able to oppose you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; (C2)I will not desert you nor abandon you.6 "(C1)Be strong and courageous, for you shall give this people possession of the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.7 "Only be strong and very courageous; (F1)(C1)be careful to do according to all the Law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, so that you may (F2)achieve success wherever you go.8 "(C1)This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may (F1)be careful to do according to all that is written in it; (C2)for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will (F2)achieve success.9 "Have I not commanded you? (C1)Be strong and courageous! (C2)Do not be terrified nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
Joshua Assumes Command
10 Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying,11 "Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, 'Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within (C1)three days you are going to cross this Jordan, to go in to take possession of the land which the LORD your God is giving you, to possess it.'"
12 But (C1)to the Reubenites, to the Gadites, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua (F1)said,13 "Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, '(C1)The LORD your God is giving you rest, and will give you this land.'14 "Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but you shall cross ahead of your brothers in battle formation, all your valiant warriors, and shall help them,15 until the LORD gives your brothers rest, as He is giving you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God is giving them. (C1)Then you may return to (F1)your own land, and take possession of (F2)that which Moses (C2)the servant of the LORD gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise."
16 They answered Joshua, saying, "All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.17 "Just as we obeyed Moses in all things, so we will obey you; only (C1)may the LORD your God be with you as He was with Moses.18 "Anyone who rebels against your (F1)command and does not obey your words in all that you command him, shall be put to death; only be strong and courageous."
Chapter 2
Rahab Shelters Spies
1 Then Joshua the son of Nun sent two men as spies secretly from (C1)Shittim, saying, "Go, view the land, especially Jericho." So they went and entered the house of (C2)a prostitute whose name was Rahab, and rested there.2 But it was told to the king of Jericho, saying, "Behold, men from the sons of Israel have come here tonight to spy out the land."3 And the king of Jericho sent word to Rahab, saying, "Bring out the men who have come to you, who have entered your house, for they have come to spy out all the land."4 But the (C1)woman had taken the two men and hidden them, and she said, "Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they were from.5 "It came about, when it was time to shut the gate at dark, that the men went out; I do not know where the men went. Pursue them quickly, for you will overtake them."6 But (C1)she had brought them up to the roof and hidden them in the stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof.7 So the men pursued them on the road to the Jordan, to the crossing places; and as soon as those who were pursuing them had gone out, they shut the gate.
8 Now before (F1)the spies lay down, she came up to them on the roof,9 and said to the men, "(C1)I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the (C2)terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of you.10 "(C1)For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the (F1)Red Sea before you when you came out of Egypt, and (C2)what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were beyond the Jordan, to Sihon and Og, whom you (F2)utterly destroyed.11 "When we heard these reports, (C1)our hearts melted and no (F1)courage remained in anyone any longer because of you; for the (C2)LORD your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth below.12 "Now then, please swear to me by the LORD, since I have dealt kindly with you, that you also will deal kindly with my father's household, and give me a (C1)pledge of (F1)truth,13 and (F1)spare my father and my mother, and my brothers and my sisters, and all who belong to them, and save our (F2)lives from death."14 So the men said to her, "Our (F1)life (F2)for yours if you do not tell this business of ours; and it shall come about when the LORD gives us the land that we will (C1)deal kindly and (F3)faithfully with you."
The Promise to Rahab
15 Then she let them down by a rope through the window, for her house was on the city wall, so that she was living on the wall.16 And she said to them, "(C1)Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not encounter you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way."17 And the men said to her, "(C1)We shall be exempt from this oath (F1)to you which you have made us swear,18 (F1)unless, when we come into the land, you tie this cord of scarlet thread in the window through which you let us down, and (C1)gather into your house your father, your mother, your brothers, and all your father's household.19 "And it shall come about that anyone who goes out of the doors of your house outside will have (F1)his blood on his own head, and we will be innocent; but anyone who is with you in the house, (C1)his blood will be on our head if a hand is laid on him.20 "But if you tell this business of ours, then we shall be exempt from the oath which you have made us swear."21 She then said, "According to your words, so be it." So she sent them away, and they departed; and she tied the scarlet cord in the window.
22 So they departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days, until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had searched for them (F1)all along the road, but had not found them.23 Then the two men returned and came down from the hill country, and they crossed over and came to Joshua the son of Nun. Then they reported to him all that had happened to them.24 And they said to Joshua, "The LORD has indeed handed over to us all the land; furthermore, (C1)all the inhabitants of the land have despaired because of us."
Job 21
Chapter 21
Job Says God Will Deal with the Wicked
1 Then Job responded,
2 "Listen carefully to my speech,
And let this be your way of consolation.
3 "Bear with me that I may speak;
Then after I have spoken, you may (C1)mock me.
4 "As for me, is (C1)my complaint (F1)to a mortal?
Or (C2)why should (F2)I not be impatient?
5 "Look at me, and be astonished,
And (C1)put your hand over your mouth.
6 "Even when I remember, I am disturbed,
And (C1)horror takes hold of my flesh.
7 "Why (C1)do the wicked still live,
Grow old, and also become very (F1)(C2)powerful?
8 "Their (F1)(C1)descendants endure with them in their sight,
And their offspring before their eyes,
9 Their houses (C1)are safe from fear,
And the (F1)rod of God is not on them.
10 "His ox mates (F1)without fail;
His cow calves and does not miscarry.
11 "They send out their boys like the flock,
And their children dance.
12 "They (F1)sing with the tambourine and harp,
And rejoice at the sound of the flute.
13 "They (C1)spend their days in prosperity,
And (F1)suddenly they go down to (F2)Sheol.
14 "Yet they say to God, '(C1)Go away from us!
We do not even desire the knowledge of Your ways.
15 '(F1)Who is (F2)the Almighty, that we should serve Him,
And (C1)what would we gain if we plead with Him?'
16 "Behold, their prosperity is not in their hand;
The (C1)advice of the wicked is far from me.
17 "How often is (C1)the lamp of the wicked put out,
Or does their (C2)disaster fall on them?
Does (F1)God apportion destruction in His anger?
18 "Are they as (C1)straw before the wind,
And like (C2)chaff which the storm carries away?
19 "You say, '(C1)God saves up (F1)a person's (F2)wrongdoing for his sons.'
Let (F3)God repay him so that he may know it.
20 "Let his (C1)own eyes see his destruction,
And let him (C2)drink of the wrath of (F1)the Almighty.
21 "For what does he care about his household (F1)after him,
When the number of his months is at an end?
22 "Can anyone (C1)teach God knowledge,
In that He (C2)judges those on high?
23 "One (C1)dies in his full strength,
Being wholly undisturbed and at ease;
24 His (F1)sides are filled with fat,
And the (C1)marrow of his bones is wet,
25 While another dies with a bitter soul,
Never even (F1)tasting anything good.
26 "Together they (C1)lie down in the dust,
And (C2)maggots cover them.
27 "Behold, I know your thoughts,
And the plots you devise against me.
28 "For you say, 'Where is the house of (C1)the nobleman,
And where is the (C2)tent, the dwelling places of the wicked?'
29 "Have you not asked travelers,
And do you not examine their (F1)evidence?
30 "For the (C1)wicked person is spared (F1)a day of disaster;
They (F2)are led away from (C2)a day of fury.
31 "Who (F1)confronts him with his actions,
And who repays him for what he has done?
32 "When he is carried to the grave,
People will keep watch over his tomb.
33 "The (C1)clods of the valley will (F1)gently cover him;
Moreover, (C2)all mankind will (F2)follow after him,
While countless others go before him.
34 "So how dare you give me empty (C1)comfort?
For your answers remain nothing but falsehood!"
Acts 8:26-40
Chapter 8
26 But (C1)an angel of the Lord spoke to (C2)Philip, saying, "Get ready and go (F1)south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to (C3)Gaza." ((F2)This is a desert road.)27 So he got ready and went; and (F1)(C1)there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of (F2)Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he (C2)had come to Jerusalem to worship,28 and he was returning and sitting in his (F1)chariot, and was reading Isaiah the prophet.29 Then (C1)the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this (F1)chariot."30 Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"31 And he said, "Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: "(C1)HE WAS LED LIKE A SHEEP TO SLAUGHTER;
AND LIKE A LAMB THAT IS SILENT BEFORE ITS SHEARER,
SO HE DOES NOT OPEN HIS MOUTH.
33 "(C1)IN HUMILIATION HIS JUSTICE WAS TAKEN AWAY;
WHO WILL (F1)DESCRIBE HIS (F2)GENERATION?
FOR HIS LIFE IS TAKEN AWAY FROM THE EARTH."
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