the Fourth Week after Easter
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Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
May 11 - Bible-in-a-Year
niv
Judges 13
Chapter 13
The Birth of Samson
1 Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord , so the Lord delivered them into the hands of the Philistines(a) for forty years.(b)
2 A certain man of Zorah,(c) named Manoah,(d) from the clan of the Danites,(e) had a wife who was childless,(f) unable to give birth. 3 The angel of the Lord (g) appeared to her(h) and said, "You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son.(i) 4 Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink(j) and that you do not eat anything unclean.(k) 5 You will become pregnant and have a son(l) whose head is never to be touched by a razor(m) because the boy is to be a Nazirite,(n) dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead(o) in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines."
6 Then the woman went to her husband and told him, "A man of God(p) came to me. He looked like an angel of God,(q) very awesome.(r) I didn't ask him where he came from, and he didn't tell me his name. 7 But he said to me, ‘You will become pregnant and have a son. Now then, drink no wine(s) or other fermented drink(t) and do not eat anything unclean, because the boy will be a Nazirite of God from the womb until the day of his death.(u)'"
8 Then Manoah(v) prayed to the Lord : "Pardon your servant, Lord. I beg you to let the man of God(w) you sent to us come again to teach us how to bring up the boy who is to be born."
9 God heard Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman while she was out in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. 10 The woman hurried to tell her husband, "He's here! The man who appeared to me(x) the other day!"
11 Manoah got up and followed his wife. When he came to the man, he said, "Are you the man who talked to my wife?"
"I am," he said.
12 So Manoah asked him, "When your words are fulfilled, what is to be the rule that governs the boy's life and work?"
13 The angel of the Lord answered, "Your wife must do all that I have told her. 14 She must not eat anything that comes from the grapevine, nor drink any wine or other fermented drink(y) nor eat anything unclean.(z) She must do everything I have commanded her."
15 Manoah said to the angel of the Lord , "We would like you to stay until we prepare a young goat(aa) for you."
16 The angel of the Lord replied, "Even though you detain me, I will not eat any of your food. But if you prepare a burnt offering,(ab) offer it to the Lord ." (Manoah did not realize(ac) that it was the angel of the Lord .)
17 Then Manoah inquired of the angel of the Lord , "What is your name,(ad) so that we may honor you when your word comes true?"
18 He replied, "Why do you ask my name?(ae) It is beyond understanding.[a]" 19 Then Manoah took a young goat, together with the grain offering, and sacrificed it on a rock(af) to the Lord . And the Lord did an amazing thing while Manoah and his wife watched: 20 As the flame(ag) blazed up from the altar toward heaven, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame. Seeing this, Manoah and his wife fell with their faces to the ground.(ah) 21 When the angel of the Lord did not show himself again to Manoah and his wife, Manoah realized(ai) that it was the angel of the Lord .
22 "We are doomed(aj) to die!" he said to his wife. "We have seen(ak) God!"
23 But his wife answered, "If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and grain offering from our hands, nor shown us all these things or now told us this."(al)
24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson.(am) He grew(an) and the Lord blessed him,(ao) 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir(ap) him while he was in Mahaneh Dan,(aq) between Zorah and Eshtaol.
Job 41
Chapter 41
1 [a]"Can you pull in Leviathan(a) with a fishhook(b)
or tie down its tongue with a rope?
2 Can you put a cord through its nose(c)
or pierce its jaw with a hook?(d)
3 Will it keep begging you for mercy?(e)
Will it speak to you with gentle words?
4 Will it make an agreement with you
for you to take it as your slave for life?(f)
5 Can you make a pet of it like a bird
or put it on a leash for the young women in your house?
6 Will traders barter for it?
Will they divide it up among the merchants?
7 Can you fill its hide with harpoons
or its head with fishing spears?(g)
8 If you lay a hand on it,
you will remember the struggle and never do it again!(h)
9 Any hope of subduing it is false;
the mere sight of it is overpowering.(i)
10 No one is fierce enough to rouse it.(j)
Who then is able to stand against me?(k)
11 Who has a claim against me that I must pay?(l)
Everything under heaven belongs to me.(m)
12 "I will not fail to speak of Leviathan's limbs,(n)
its strength(o) and its graceful form.
13 Who can strip off its outer coat?
Who can penetrate its double coat of armor[b]?(p)
14 Who dares open the doors of its mouth,(q)
ringed about with fearsome teeth?
15 Its back has[c] rows of shields
tightly sealed together;(r)
16 each is so close to the next
that no air can pass between.
17 They are joined fast to one another;
they cling together and cannot be parted.
18 Its snorting throws out flashes of light;
its eyes are like the rays of dawn.(s)
19 Flames(t) stream from its mouth;
sparks of fire shoot out.
20 Smoke pours from its nostrils(u)
as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.
21 Its breath(v) sets coals ablaze,
and flames dart from its mouth.(w)
22 Strength(x) resides in its neck;
dismay goes before it.
23 The folds of its flesh are tightly joined;
they are firm and immovable.
24 Its chest is hard as rock,
hard as a lower millstone.(y)
25 When it rises up, the mighty are terrified;(z)
they retreat before its thrashing.(aa)
26 The sword that reaches it has no effect,
nor does the spear or the dart or the javelin.(ab)
27 Iron it treats like straw(ac)
and bronze like rotten wood.
28 Arrows do not make it flee;(ad)
slingstones are like chaff to it.
29 A club seems to it but a piece of straw;(ae)
it laughs(af) at the rattling of the lance.
30 Its undersides are jagged potsherds,
leaving a trail in the mud like a threshing sledge.(ag)
31 It makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron(ah)
and stirs up the sea like a pot of ointment.(ai)
32 It leaves a glistening wake behind it;
one would think the deep had white hair.
33 Nothing on earth is its equal(aj)—
a creature without fear.
34 It looks down on all that are haughty;(ak)
it is king over all that are proud.(al)"
Acts 20:1-16
Chapter 20
Through Macedonia and Greece
1 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples(a) and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia.(b) 2 He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, 3 where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him(c) just as he was about to sail for Syria,(d) he decided to go back through Macedonia.(e) 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus(f) and Secundus from Thessalonica,(g) Gaius(h) from Derbe, Timothy(i) also, and Tychicus(j) and Trophimus(k) from the province of Asia.(l) 5 These men went on ahead and waited for us(m) at Troas.(n) 6 But we sailed from Philippi(o) after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas,(p) where we stayed seven days.
Eutychus Raised From the Dead at Troas
7 On the first day of the week(q) we came together to break bread.(r) Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upstairs room(s) where we were meeting. 9 Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. 10 Paul went down, threw himself on the young man(t) and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!"(u) 11 Then he went upstairs again and broke bread(v) and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. 12 The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.
Paul's Farewell to the Ephesian Elders
13 We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. 14 When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. 15 The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.(w) 16 Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus(x) to avoid spending time in the province of Asia,(y) for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem,(z) if possible, by the day of Pentecost.(aa)
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