Bible Reading Plan

Firstfruits and Tithes

¹ When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, ² take some of the firstfruits^(a) of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and put them in a basket. Then go to the place the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name^{(b) 3} and say to the priest in office at the time, "I declare today to the Lord your God that I have come to the land the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us." ⁴ The priest shall take the basket from your hands and set it down in front of the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ Then you shall declare before the Lord your God: "My father was a wandering^(c) Aramean,^(d) and he went down into Egypt with a few people^(e) and lived there and became a great nation,^(f) powerful and numerous. ⁶ But the Egyptians mistreated us and made us suffer,^(g) subjecting us to harsh labor.^{(h) 7} Then we cried out to the Lord , the God of our ancestors, and the Lord heard our voice⁽ⁱ⁾ and saw^(j) our misery,^(k) toil and oppression.^{(l) 8} So the Lord brought us out of Egypt^(m) with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,⁽ⁿ⁾ with great terror and with signs and wonders.^{(o) 9} He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey;^{(p) 10} and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord , have given me.^(q)" Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. ¹¹ Then you and the Levites^(r) and the foreigners residing among you shall rejoice^(s) in all the good things the Lord your God has given to you and your household.

¹² When you have finished setting aside a tenth^(t) of all your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe,^(u) you shall give it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in your towns and be satisfied. ¹³ Then say to the Lord your God: "I have removed from my house the sacred portion and have given it to the Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, according to all you commanded. I have not turned aside from your commands nor have I forgotten any of them.^{(v) 14} I have not eaten any of the sacred portion while I was in mourning, nor have I removed any of it while I was unclean,^(w) nor have I offered any of it to the dead. I have obeyed the Lord my God; I have done everything you commanded me. ¹⁵ Look down from heaven,^(x) your holy dwelling place, and bless^(y) your people Israel and the land you have given us as you promised on oath to our ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey."

Follow the Lord's Commands

¹⁶ The Lord your God commands you this day to follow these decrees and laws; carefully observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.^{(z) 17} You have declared this day that the Lord is your God and that you will walk in obedience to him, that you will keep his decrees, commands and laws—that you will listen to him.^{(aa) 18} And the Lord has declared this day that you are his people, his treasured possession^(ab) as he promised, and that you are to keep all his commands. ¹⁹ He has declared that he will set you in praise,^(ac) fame and honor high above all the nations^(ad) he has made and that you will be a people holy^(ae) to the Lord your God, as he promised.

Chapter 7

The Faith of the Centurion^(a)

¹ When Jesus had finished saying all this^(b) to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. ² There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. ³ The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. ⁴ When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, ⁵ because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." ⁶ So Jesus went with them.

He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. ⁷ That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed.^{(c) 8} For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,' and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,' and he does it."

⁹ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." ¹⁰ Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Jesus Raises a Widow's Son^(d)

¹¹ Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. ¹² As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. ¹³ When the Lord^(e) saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, "Don't cry."

¹⁴ Then he went up and touched the bier they were carrying him on, and the bearers stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!"^{(f) 15} The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

¹⁶ They were all filled with awe^(g) and praised God.^(h) "A great prophet⁽ⁱ⁾ has appeared among us," they said. "God has come to help his people."^{(j) 17} This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.^(k)

Jesus and John the Baptist^(l)

¹⁸ John's^(m) disciples⁽ⁿ⁾ told him about all these things. Calling two of them, ¹⁹ he sent them to the Lord to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?"

²⁰ When the men came to Jesus, they said, "John the Baptist sent us to you to ask, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?'"

²¹ At that very time Jesus cured many who had diseases, sicknesses^(o) and evil spirits, and gave sight to many who were blind. ²² So he replied to the messengers, "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy^[a] are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.^{(p) 23} Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me."

²⁴ After John's messengers left, Jesus began to speak to the crowd about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swayed by the wind? ²⁵ If not, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? No, those who wear expensive clothes and indulge in luxury are in palaces. ²⁶ But what did you go out to see? A prophet?^(q) Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. ²⁷ This is the one about whom it is written:

²⁸ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God^(s) is greater than he."

²⁹ (All the people, even the tax collectors, when they heard Jesus' words, acknowledged that God's way was right, because they had been baptized by John.^{(t) 30} But the Pharisees and the experts in the law^(u) rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptized by John.)