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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
March 25 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
Numbers 19-20
Chapter 19
The Water of Cleansing
1 The Lord said to Moses and Aaron: 2 "This is a requirement of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the Israelites to bring you a red heifer(a) without defect or blemish(b) and that has never been under a yoke.(c) 3 Give it to Eleazar(d) the priest; it is to be taken outside the camp(e) and slaughtered in his presence. 4 Then Eleazar the priest is to take some of its blood on his finger and sprinkle(f) it seven times toward the front of the tent of meeting. 5 While he watches, the heifer is to be burned—its hide, flesh, blood and intestines.(g) 6 The priest is to take some cedar wood, hyssop(h) and scarlet wool(i) and throw them onto the burning heifer. 7 After that, the priest must wash his clothes and bathe himself with water.(j) He may then come into the camp, but he will be ceremonially unclean till evening. 8 The man who burns it must also wash his clothes and bathe with water, and he too will be unclean till evening.
9 "A man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer(k) and put them in a ceremonially clean place(l) outside the camp. They are to be kept by the Israelite community for use in the water of cleansing;(m) it is for purification from sin.(n) 10 The man who gathers up(o) the ashes of the heifer must also wash his clothes, and he too will be unclean till evening.(p) This will be a lasting ordinance(q) both for the Israelites and for the foreigners residing among them.(r)
11 "Whoever touches a human corpse(s) will be unclean for seven days.(t) 12 They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;(u) then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean.(v) 13 If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse,(w) they defile the Lord 's tabernacle.(x) They must be cut off from Israel.(y) Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean;(z) their uncleanness remains on them.
14 "This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, 15 and every open container(aa) without a lid fastened on it will be unclean.
16 "Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death,(ab) or anyone who touches a human bone(ac) or a grave,(ad) will be unclean for seven days.(ae)
17 "For the unclean person, put some ashes(af) from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water(ag) over them. 18 Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop,(ah) dip it in the water and sprinkle(ai) the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave(aj) or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. 19 The man who is clean is to sprinkle(ak) those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them.(al) Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes(am) and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. 20 But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled(an) the sanctuary of the Lord .(ao) The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean.(ap) 21 This is a lasting ordinance(aq) for them.
"The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean till evening. 22 Anything that an unclean(ar) person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean till evening."
Chapter 20
Water From the Rock
1 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin,(a) and they stayed at Kadesh.(b) There Miriam(c) died and was buried.
2 Now there was no water(d) for the community,(e) and the people gathered in opposition(f) to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled(g) with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead(h) before the Lord !(i) 4 Why did you bring the Lord 's community into this wilderness,(j) that we and our livestock should die here?(k) 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.(l) And there is no water to drink!(m)"
6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting(n) and fell facedown,(o) and the glory of the Lord (p) appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 "Take the staff,(q) and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.(r) You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink."
9 So Moses took the staff(s) from the Lord 's presence,(t) just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together(u) in front of the rock and Moses said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?"(v) 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water(w) gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank.
12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy(x) in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them."(y)
13 These were the waters of Meribah,[a](z) where the Israelites quarreled(aa) with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them.(ab)
Edom Denies Israel Passage
14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh(ac) to the king of Edom,(ad) saying:
"This is what your brother Israel says: You know(ae) about all the hardships(af) that have come on us. 15 Our ancestors went down into Egypt,(ag) and we lived there many years.(ah) The Egyptians mistreated(ai) us and our ancestors, 16 but when we cried out to the Lord , he heard our cry(aj) and sent an angel(ak) and brought us out of Egypt.(al)
"Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory.(am) 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King's Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory.(an)"
18 But Edom(ao) answered:
"You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.(ap)"
19 The Israelites replied:
"We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock(aq) drink any of your water, we will pay for it.(ar) We only want to pass through on foot—nothing else."
20 Again they answered:
"You may not pass through.(as)"
Then Edom(at) came out against them with a large and powerful army. 21 Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory,(au) Israel turned away from them.(av)
The Death of Aaron
22 The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh(aw) and came to Mount Hor.(ax) 23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom,(ay) the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 24 "Aaron will be gathered to his people.(az) He will not enter the land I give the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against my command(ba) at the waters of Meribah.(bb) 25 Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor.(bc) 26 Remove Aaron's garments(bd) and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people;(be) he will die there."
27 Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor(bf) in the sight of the whole community. 28 Moses removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar.(bg) And Aaron died there(bh) on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, 29 and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died,(bi) all the Israelites mourned for him(bj) thirty days.
Ecclesiastes 11:9-12:14
Chapter 11
9 You who are young, be happy while you are young,
and let your heart give you joy in the days of your youth.
Follow the ways of your heart
and whatever your eyes see,
but know that for all these things
God will bring you into judgment.(h)
10 So then, banish anxiety(i) from your heart
and cast off the troubles of your body,
for youth and vigor are meaningless.(j)
Chapter 12
1 Remember(a) your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble(b) come
and the years approach when you will say,
"I find no pleasure in them"—
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark,
and the clouds return after the rain;
3 when the keepers of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
when the grinders cease because they are few,
and those looking through the windows grow dim;
4 when the doors to the street are closed
and the sound of grinding fades;
when people rise up at the sound of birds,
but all their songs grow faint;(c)
5 when people are afraid of heights
and of dangers in the streets;
when the almond tree blossoms
and the grasshopper drags itself along
and desire no longer is stirred.
Then people go to their eternal home(d)
and mourners(e) go about the streets.
6 Remember him—before the silver cord is severed,
and the golden bowl is broken;
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring,
and the wheel broken at the well,
7 and the dust returns(f) to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God(g) who gave it.(h)
8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher.[a](i)
"Everything is meaningless!(j)"
The Conclusion of the Matter
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but he also imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.(k) 10 The Teacher(l) searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.(m)
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails(n)—given by one shepherd.[b] 12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them.
Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.(o)
13 Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
Fear God(p) and keep his commandments,(q)
for this is the duty of all mankind.(r)
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,(s)
including every hidden thing,(t)
whether it is good or evil.
Matthew 21:28-46
Chapter 21
28 "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.'(ac)
29 "‘I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.
30 "Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, ‘I will, sir,' but he did not go.
31 "Which of the two did what his father wanted?"
"The first," they answered.
Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors(ad) and the prostitutes(ae) are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32 For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness,(af) and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors(ag) and the prostitutes(ah) did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent(ai) and believe him.
The Parable of the Tenants(aj)
33 "Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted(ak) a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower.(al) Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and moved to another place.(am) 34 When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants(an) to the tenants to collect his fruit.
35 "The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(ao) 36 Then he sent other servants(ap) to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. 37 Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,' he said.
38 "But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir.(aq) Come, let's kill him(ar) and take his inheritance.'(as) 39 So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.
40 "Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?"
41 "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,"(at) they replied, "and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants,(au) who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time."
42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
"‘The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'[h]?(av)
43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you(aw) and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed."[i](ax)
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.(ay)
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