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Bible Reading Plan

Daily Bible Reading

July 31 - Old & New Testament
niv

Jump to: Psalms 116,117,118 • 1 Thessalonians 4

Psalms 116,117,118

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Psalm 116

¹ I love the Lord ,^(a) for he heard my voice;
he heard my cry^(b) for mercy.^(c)
² Because he turned his ear^(d) to me,
I will call on him as long as I live.

³ The cords of death^(e) entangled me,
     the anguish of the grave came over me;
     I was overcome by distress and sorrow.
⁴ Then I called on the name^(f) of the Lord :
     " Lord , save me!^(g)"

⁵ The Lord is gracious and righteous;^(h)
our God is full of compassion.⁽ⁱ⁾
⁶ The Lord protects the unwary;
when I was brought low,^(j) he saved me.^(k)

⁷ Return to your rest,^(l) my soul,
for the Lord has been good^(m) to you.

⁸ For you, Lord , have delivered me⁽ⁿ⁾ from death,
     my eyes from tears,
     my feet from stumbling,
⁹ that I may walk before the Lord ^(o)
     in the land of the living.^(p)

¹⁰ I trusted^(q) in the Lord when I said,
"I am greatly afflicted";^(r)
¹¹ in my alarm I said,
"Everyone is a liar."^(s)

¹² What shall I return to the Lord
for all his goodness^(t) to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name^(u) of the Lord .
¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows^(v) to the Lord
in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight^(w) of the Lord
     is the death of his faithful servants.^(x)
¹⁶ Truly I am your servant, Lord ;^(y)
     I serve you just as my mother did;^(z)
     you have freed me from my chains.^(aa)

¹⁷ I will sacrifice a thank offering^(ab) to you
     and call on the name of the Lord .
¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows^(ac) to the Lord
     in the presence of all his people,
¹⁹ in the courts^(ad) of the house of the Lord —
     in your midst, Jerusalem.^(ae)

Praise the Lord .^[a]

Psalm 117

¹ Praise the Lord ,^(a) all you nations;^(b)
extol him, all you peoples.
² For great is his love^(c) toward us,
and the faithfulness of the Lord ^(d) endures forever.

Praise the Lord .^[a]

Psalm 118

¹ Give thanks to the Lord ,^(a) for he is good;^(b)
his love endures forever.^(c)

² Let Israel say:^(d)
     "His love endures forever."^(e)
³ Let the house of Aaron say:^(f)
     "His love endures forever."
⁴ Let those who fear the Lord ^(g) say:
     "His love endures forever."

⁵ When hard pressed,^(h) I cried to the Lord ;
     he brought me into a spacious place.⁽ⁱ⁾
⁶ The Lord is with me;^(j) I will not be afraid.
     What can mere mortals do to me?^(k)
⁷ The Lord is with me; he is my helper.^(l)
     I look in triumph on my enemies.^(m)

⁸ It is better to take refuge in the Lord ⁽ⁿ⁾
     than to trust in humans.^(o)
⁹ It is better to take refuge in the Lord
     than to trust in princes.^(p)
¹⁰ All the nations surrounded me,
     but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.^(q)
¹¹ They surrounded me^(r) on every side,^(s)
     but in the name of the Lord I cut them down.
¹² They swarmed around me like bees,^(t)
     but they were consumed as quickly as burning thorns;^(u)
     in the name of the Lord I cut them down.^(v)
¹³ I was pushed back and about to fall,
     but the Lord helped me.^(w)
¹⁴ The Lord is my strength^(x) and my defense^[a];
     he has become my salvation.^(y)

¹⁵ Shouts of joy^(z) and victory
     resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The Lord 's right hand^(aa) has done mighty things!^(ab)
¹⁶      The Lord 's right hand is lifted high;
     the Lord 's right hand has done mighty things!"
¹⁷ I will not die^(ac) but live,
     and will proclaim^(ad) what the Lord has done.
¹⁸ The Lord has chastened^(ae) me severely,
     but he has not given me over to death.^(af)
¹⁹ Open for me the gates^(ag) of the righteous;
     I will enter^(ah) and give thanks to the Lord .
²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord ^(ai)
     through which the righteous may enter.^(aj)
²¹ I will give you thanks, for you answered me;^(ak)
     you have become my salvation.^(al)

²² The stone^(am) the builders rejected
     has become the cornerstone;^(an)
²³ the Lord has done this,
     and it is marvelous^(ao) in our eyes.
²⁴ The Lord has done it this very day;
     let us rejoice today and be glad.^(ap)

²⁵ Lord , save us!^(aq)
Lord , grant us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes^(ar) in the name of the Lord .
     From the house of the Lord we bless you.^[b]^(as)
²⁷ The Lord is God,^(at)
     and he has made his light shine^(au) on us.
With boughs in hand,^(av) join in the festal procession
     up^[c] to the horns of the altar.^(aw)

²⁸ You are my God, and I will praise you;
you are my God,^(ax) and I will exalt^(ay) you.

²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord , for he is good;
his love endures forever.

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1 Thessalonians 4

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Chapter 4 Living to Please God

¹ As for other matters, brothers and sisters,^(a) we instructed you how to live^(b) in order to please God,^(c) as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³ It is God's will^(d) that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality;^(e) ⁴ that each of you should learn to control your own body^[a]^(f) in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵ not in passionate lust^(g) like the pagans,^(h) who do not know God;⁽ⁱ⁾ ⁶ and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister.^[b]^(j) The Lord will punish^(k) all those who commit such sins,^(l) as we told you and warned you before. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.^(m) ⁸ Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.⁽ⁿ⁾

⁹ Now about your love for one another^(o) we do not need to write to you,^(p) for you yourselves have been taught by God^(q) to love each other.^(r) ¹⁰ And in fact, you do love all of God's family throughout Macedonia.^(s) Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,^(t) ¹¹ and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands,^(u) just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders^(v) and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Believers Who Have Died

¹³ Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed^(w) about those who sleep in death,^(x) so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.^(y) ¹⁴ For we believe that Jesus died and rose again,^(z) and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.^(aa) ¹⁵ According to the Lord's word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord,^(ab) will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.^(ac) ¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven,^(ad) with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel^(ae) and with the trumpet call of God,^(af) and the dead in Christ will rise first.^(ag) ¹⁷ After that, we who are still alive and are left^(ah) will be caught up together with them in the clouds^(ai) to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord^(aj) forever. ¹⁸ Therefore encourage one another^(ak) with these words.