FEBRUARY
11
PSALMS: 11,
41, 71, 101, 131
PROVERBS: 11
OLD TESTAMENT: JUDGES 17:1 - 18:31
NEW TESTAMENT: JOHN 3:1 - 21
PSALMS: 11
For
the director of music. Of David.
1
In the LORD I take refuge.
How
then can you say to me:
"Flee like a bird to your mountain.
2 For look,
the wicked bend their bows;
they set their arrows against the strings
to shoot from the shadows
at the upright in heart.
3 When the
foundations are being destroyed,
what can the righteous do A?"
4
The LORD is in his holy temple;
the
LORD is on his heavenly throne.
He
observes the sons of men;
his
eyes examine them.
5
The LORD examines the righteous,
but
the wicked B and those who love violence
his
soul hates.
6
On the wicked he will rain
fiery
coals and burning sulfur;
a
scorching wind will be their lot.
7
For the LORD is righteous,
he
loves justice;
upright
men will see his face. [1]
PSALMS: 41
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
Blessed is he who has regard for the weak;
the
LORD delivers him in times of trouble.
2
The LORD will protect him and preserve his life;
he
will bless him in the land
and
not surrender him to the desire of his foes.
3
The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed
and
restore him from his bed of illness.
4
I said, "O LORD, have mercy on me;
heal
me, for I have sinned against you."
5
My enemies say of me in malice,
"When
will he die and his name perish?"
6
Whenever one comes to see me,
he
speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
then
he goes out and spreads it abroad.
7
All my enemies whisper together against me;
they
imagine the worst for me, saying,
8
"A vile disease has beset him;
he
will never get up from the place where he lies."
9
Even my close friend, whom I trusted,
he
who shared my bread,
has
lifted up his heel against me. [2]
10
But you, O LORD, have mercy on me;
raise
me up, that I may repay them.
11
I know that you are pleased with me,
for
my enemy does not triumph over me.
12
In my integrity you uphold me
and
set me in your presence forever.
13
Praise be to the LORD, the God of Israel,
from
everlasting to everlasting.
Amen
and Amen [3]
PSALMS: 71
1
In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge;
let
me never be put to shame.
2
Rescue me and deliver me in your righteousness;
turn
your ear to me and save me.
3
Be my rock of refuge,
to
which I can always go;
give
the command to save me,
for
you are my rock and my fortress.
4
Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
from
the grasp of evil and cruel men.
5
For you have been my hope, O Sovereign LORD,
my
confidence since my youth.
6
From birth I have relied on you;
you
brought me forth from my mother's womb.
I
will ever praise you.
7
I have become like a portent to many,
but
you are my strong refuge.
8
My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring
your splendor all day long.
9
Do not cast me away when I am old;
do
not forsake me when my strength is gone.
10
For my enemies speak against me;
those
who wait to kill me conspire together.
11
They say, "God has forsaken him;
pursue
him and seize him,
for
no one will rescue him."
12
Be not far from me, O God;
come
quickly, O my God, to help me.
13
May my accusers perish in shame;
may
those who want to harm me
be
covered with scorn and disgrace.[4]
14
But as for me, I will always have hope;
I
will praise you more and more.
15
My mouth will tell of your righteousness,
of
your salvation all day long,
though
I know not its measure.
16
I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, O Sovereign
LORD;
I
will proclaim your righteousness, yours alone.
17
Since my youth, O God, you have taught me,
and
to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
18
Even when I am old and gray,
do
not forsake me, O God,
till
I declare your power to the next generation,
your
might to all who are to come.
19
Your righteousness reaches to the skies, O God,
you
who have done great things.
Who,
O God, is like you?
20
Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter,
you
will restore my life again;
from
the depths of the earth
you
will again bring me up.
21
You will increase my honor
and
comfort me once again.
22
I will praise you with the harp
for
your faithfulness, O my God;
I
will sing praise to you with the lyre,
O
Holy One of Israel.
23
My lips will shout for joy
when
I sing praise to you--
I,
whom you have redeemed.
24
My tongue will tell of your righteous acts [5]
all
day long,
for
those who wanted to harm me
have
been put to shame and confusion. [6]
PSALMS: 101
Of
David. A psalm.
1
I will sing of your love and justice;
to
you, O LORD, I will sing praise.
2
I will be careful to lead a blameless life--
when
will you come to me?
I
will walk in my house
with
blameless heart.
3
I will set before my eyes
no
vile thing.
The
deeds of faithless men I hate;
they
will not cling to me.
4
Men of perverse heart shall be far from me;
I
will have nothing to do with evil.
5
Whoever slanders his neighbor in secret,
him
will I put to silence;
whoever
has haughty eyes and a proud heart,
him
will I not endure.
6
My eyes will be on the faithful in the land,
that
they may dwell with me;
he
whose walk is blameless
will
minister to me.[7]
7
No one who practices deceit
will
dwell in my house;
no
one who speaks falsely
will
stand in my presence.
8
Every morning I will put to silence
all
the wicked in the land;
I
will cut off every evildoer
from
the city of the LORD. [8]
PSALMS: 131
A
song of ascents. Of David.
1
My heart is not proud, O LORD,
my
eyes are not haughty;
I
do not concern myself with great matters
or
things too wonderful for me.
2
But I have stilled and quieted my soul;
like
a weaned child with its mother,
like
a weaned child is my soul within me.
3
O Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both
now and forevermore. [9]
PROVERBS: 11
11
1 The LORD abhors
dishonest scales,
but
accurate weights are his delight.
2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace,
but
with humility comes wisdom.
3
The integrity of the upright guides them,
but
the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
4
Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath,
but
righteousness delivers from death.
5
The righteousness of the blameless makes a straight way for them,
but
the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness.
6
The righteousness of the upright delivers them,
but
the unfaithful are trapped by evil desires.
7
When a wicked man dies, his hope perishes;
all
he expected from his power comes to nothing.
8
The righteous man is rescued from trouble,
and
it comes on the wicked instead.
9
With his mouth the godless destroys his neighbor,
but
through knowledge the righteous escape.
10
When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices;
when
the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.
11
Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
but
by the mouth of the wicked it is destroyed. [10]
12
A man who lacks judgment derides his neighbor,
but
a man of understanding holds his tongue.
13
A gossip betrays a confidence,
but
a trustworthy man keeps a secret.
14
For lack of guidance a nation falls,
but
many advisers make victory sure.
15
He who puts up security for another will surely
suffer,
but
whoever refuses to strike hands in pledge is safe.
16
A kindhearted woman gains respect,
but
ruthless men gain only wealth.
17
A kind man benefits himself,
but
a cruel man brings trouble on himself.
18
The wicked man earns deceptive wages,
but
he who sows righteousness reaps a sure reward.
19
The truly righteous man attains life,
but
he who pursues evil goes to his death.
20
The LORD detests men of perverse heart
but
he delights in those whose ways are blameless.
21
Be sure of this: The wicked will not go unpunished,
but
those who are righteous will go free.[11]
22
Like a gold ring in a pig's snout
is
a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.
23
The desire of the righteous ends only in good,
but
the hope of the wicked only in wrath.
24
One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another
withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.
25
A generous man will prosper;
he
who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
26
People curse the man who hoards grain,
but
blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.
27
He who seeks good finds goodwill,
but
evil comes to him who searches for it.
28
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but
the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.
29
He who brings trouble on his family will inherit only
wind,
and
the fool will be servant to the wise.
30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and
he who wins souls is wise.
31
If the righteous receive their due on earth,
how
much more the ungodly and the sinner! [12]
OLD TESTAMENT: JUDGES 17:1 - 18:31
17 1
Now a man named Micah from the hill country of Ephraim
2 said to his mother, "The eleven hundred shekels A
of silver that were taken from you and about which I heard you utter a curse--I
have that silver with me; I took it."
Then his mother said,
"The LORD bless you, my son!"
3 When
he returned the eleven hundred shekels of silver to his mother, she said,
"I solemnly consecrate my silver to the LORD for my son to make a carved
image and a cast idol. I will give it back to you."
4 So
he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels B
of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the
idol. And they were put in Micah's house.
5 Now
this man Micah had a shrine, and he made an ephod and some idols and installed one
of his sons as his priest. 6 In those days Israel had no king;
everyone did as he saw fit.
7 A
young Levite from Bethlehem in Judah, who had been living within the clan of
Judah, 8 left that town in search of some other place to stay. On
his way C he came to Micah's house in the hill country of Ephraim.
9 Micah
asked him, "Where are you from?"
"I'm a Levite from
Bethlehem in Judah," he said, "and I'm looking for a place to
stay."
10 Then
Micah said to him, "Live with me and be my father and priest, and I'll
give you ten shekels D of silver a year, your clothes [13]
and your food." 11 So the Levite agreed to live with him, and
the young man was to him like one of his sons. 12 Then Micah
installed the Levite, and the young man became his priest and lived in his
house. 13 And Micah said, "Now I know that the LORD will be
good to me, since this Levite has become my priest."
18 1
In those days Israel had no king.
And in those days the
tribe of the Danites was seeking a place of their own where they might settle,
because they had not yet come into an inheritance among the tribes of Israel. 2
So the Danites sent five warriors from Zorah and Eshtaol to spy out the
land and explore it. These men represented all their clans. They told them,
"Go, explore the land."
The men entered the hill
country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah, where they spent the night. 3
When they were near Micah's house, they recognized the voice of the young
Levite; so they turned in there and asked him, "Who brought you here? What
are you doing in this place? Why are you here?"
4 He
told them what Micah had done for him, and said, "He has hired me and I am
his priest."
5 Then
they said to him, "Please inquire of God to learn whether our journey will
be successful."
6 The
priest answered them, "Go in peace. Your journey has the LORD's
approval."
7 So
the five men left and came to Laish, where they saw that the [14]
people were living in safety, like the Sidonians, unsuspecting and secure. And
since their land lacked nothing, they were prosperous. A Also, they
lived a long way from the Sidonians and had no relationship with anyone else. B
8 When
they returned to Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, "How did
you find things?"
9 They
answered, "Come on, let's attack them! We have seen that the land is very
good. Aren't you going to do something? Don't hesitate to go there and take it
over. 10 When you get there, you will find an unsuspecting people
and a spacious land that God has put into your hands, a land that lacks nothing
whatever."
11 Then
six hundred men from the clan of the Danites, armed for battle, set out from
Zorah and Eshtaol. 12 On their way they set up camp near Kiriath
Jearim in Judah. This is why the place west of Kiriath Jearim is called Mahaneh
Dan C to this day. 13 From there they went on to the hill
country of Ephraim and came to Micah's house.
14 Then
the five men who had spied out the land of Laish said to their brothers,
"Do you know that one of these houses has an ephod, other household gods,
a carved image and a cast idol? Now you know what to do." 15 So
they turned in there and went to the house of the young Levite at Micah's place
and greeted him.
16 The
six hundred Danites, armed for battle, stood at the entrance to the gate. 17
The five men who had spied out the land went inside and took the carved
image, the ephod, the other household gods and the cast idol while the priest
and the six hundred armed men stood at the entrance [15]
to the gate.
18 When
these men went into Micah's house and took the carved image, the ephod, the
other household gods and the cast idol, the priest said to them, "What are
you doing?"
19 They
answered him, "Be quiet! Don't say a word. Come with us, and be our father
and priest. Isn't it better that you serve a tribe and clan in Israel as priest
rather than just one man's household?" 20 Then the priest was
glad. He took the ephod, the other household gods and the carved image and went
along with the people. 21 Putting their little children, their
livestock and their possessions in front of them, they turned away and left.
22 When
they had gone some distance from Micah's house, the men who lived near Micah
were called together and overtook the Danites. 23 As they shouted
after them, the Danites turned and said to Micah, "What's the matter with
you that you called out your men to fight?"
24 He
replied, "You took the gods I made, and my priest, and went away. What
else do I have? How can you ask, `What's the matter with you?' "
25 The
Danites answered, "Don't argue with us, or some hot-tempered men will
attack you, and you and your family will lose your lives." 26 So
the Danites went their way, and Micah, seeing that they were too strong for
him, turned around and went back home. [16]
27 Then they took what Micah had made, and his priest, and went on
to Laish, against a peaceful and unsuspecting people. They attacked them with
the sword and burned down their city.
28 There
was no one to rescue them because they lived a long way from Sidon and had no
relationship with anyone else. The city was in a valley near Beth Rehob.
The Danites rebuilt the
city and settled there. 29 They named it Dan after their forefather
Dan, who was born to Israel--though the city used to be called Laish.
30 There
the Danites set up for themselves the idols, and Jonathan son of Gershom, the
son of Moses, D and his sons were priests for the tribe of Dan until
the time of the captivity of the land. 31 They continued to use the
idols Micah had made, all the time the house of God was in Shiloh. [17]
NEW TESTAMENT: JOHN 3:1 - 21
3 1
Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night
and said, "Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no
one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with
him."
3 In
reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no
one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again. A"
4 "How can a man be born when he is old?"
Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's
womb to be born!"
5 Jesus
answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter
the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit B gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, `You C must be born again.' 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but
you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with
everyone born of the Spirit."
9 "How
can this be?" Nicodemus asked.
10 "You are Israel's teacher," said Jesus, "and do you not understand these things? 11 I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we
testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
12 I have spoken to you of earthly
things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly
things? 13 No one has ever gone into
heaven except the one who came from heaven--the Son of Man. D 14Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the
desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up,
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, F that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17
For God did not send his Son into the world
to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one
and only Son.G 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men
loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come
into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so
that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God."
H [19]
[1]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
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[2]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
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[3]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
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[4]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
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[5]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
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[6]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[7]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[8]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[9]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[10] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[11] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[12] Excerpted from Compton's
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Inc. All Rights Reserved
[13] Excerpted from Compton's
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Inc. All Rights Reserved
[14] Excerpted from Compton's
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Inc. All Rights Reserved
[15] Excerpted from Compton's
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Inc. All Rights Reserved
[16] Excerpted from Compton's
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Inc. All Rights Reserved
[17] Excerpted from Compton's
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Inc. All Rights Reserved
[18] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[19] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
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