FEBRUARY
20
PSALMS: 20, 50, 80, 110, 140
PROVERBS: 20
OLD TESTAMENT: 1 SAMUEL 12:1 - 13:23
NEW TESTAMENT: JOHN 7:1 - 30
PSALMS: 20
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may
the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
2
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and
grant you support from Zion.
3
May he remember all your sacrifices
and
accept your burnt offerings.
Selah
4
May he give you the desire of your heart
and
make all your plans succeed.
5
We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and
will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May
the LORD grant all your requests.
6
Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he
answers him from his holy heaven
with
the saving power of his right hand.
7
Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but
we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8
They are brought to their knees and fall,
but
we rise up and stand firm.
9
O LORD, save the king!
Answer
A us when we call! [1]
PSALMS: 50
A
psalm of Asaph.
1
The Mighty One, God, the LORD,
speaks
and summons the earth
from
the rising of the sun to the place where it sets.
2
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God
shines forth.
3
Our God comes and will not be silent;
a
fire devours before him,
and
around him a tempest rages.
4
He summons the heavens above,
and
the earth, that he may judge his people:
5
"Gather to me my
consecrated ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
6
And the heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for
God himself is judge.
Selah
7
"Hear, O my people,
and I will speak,
O Israel, and I will testify against you:
I am God, your God.
8 I do not
rebuke you for your sacrifices
or your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.
9 I have no
need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,
10 for every
animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know
every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.
12 If I were
hungry I would not tell you, [2]
for the world is mine, and all that is in it.
13 Do I eat
the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 Sacrifice
thank offerings to God,
fulfill your vows to the Most High,
15 and call
upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me."
16
But to the wicked, God says:
"What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant on your lips?
17 You hate
my instruction
and cast my words behind you.
18 When you
see a thief, you join with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.
19 You use your
mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.
20 You speak
continually against your brother
and slander your own mother's son.
21 These
things you have done and I kept silent;
you thought I was altogetherA like you.
But I will rebuke you
and accuse you to your face.
22
"Consider this, you
who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue:
23 He who
sacrifices thank offerings honors me,
and he prepares the way
PSALMS: 80
For
the director of music. To the tune of "The Lilies of the Covenant."
Of Asaph. A psalm.
1
Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel,
you
who lead Joseph like a flock;
you
who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
2
before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken
your might;
come
and save us.
3
Restore us, O God;
make
your face shine upon us,
that
we may be saved.
4
O LORD God Almighty,
how
long will your anger smolder
against
the prayers of your people?
5
You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you
have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6
You have made us a source of contention to our
neighbors,
and
our enemies mock us.
7
Restore us, O God Almighty;
make
your face shine upon us,
that
we may be saved.
8
You brought a vine out of Egypt;
you
drove out the nations and planted it.
9
You cleared the ground for it,
and
it took root and filled the land.
10
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the
mighty cedars with its branches. [4]
11
It sent out its boughs to the Sea, A
its
shoots as far as the River. B
12
Why have you broken down its walls
so
that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13
Boars from the forest ravage it
and
the creatures of the field feed on it.
14
Return to us, O God Almighty!
Look
down from heaven and see!
Watch
over this vine,
15
the root your right hand has planted,
the
son C you have raised up for yourself.
16
Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at
your rebuke your people perish.
17
Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the
son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18
Then we will not turn away from you;
revive
us, and we will call on your name.
19
Restore us, O LORD God Almighty;
make
your face shine upon us,
that
we may be saved. [5]
PSALMS: 110
Of
David. A psalm.
1
The LORD says to my Lord:
"Sit
at my right hand
until
I make your enemies
a
footstool for your feet."
2
The LORD will extend your mighty scepter from Zion;
you
will rule in the midst of your enemies.
3
Your troops will be willing
on
your day of battle.
Arrayed
in holy majesty,
from
the womb of the dawn
you
will receive the dew of your youth. A
4
The LORD has sworn
and
will not change his mind:
"You are a priest forever,
in the order of Melchizedek."
5
The Lord is at your right hand;
he
will crush kings on the day of his wrath.
6
He will judge the nations, heaping up the dead
and
crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
7
He will drink from a brook beside the way B;
therefore
he will lift up his head. [6]
PSALMS: 140
For
the director of music. A psalm of David.
1
Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men;
protect
me from men of violence,
2
who devise evil plans in their hearts
and
stir up war every day.
3
They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent's;
the
poison of vipers is on their lips.
Selah
4
Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect
me from men of violence
who
plan to trip my feet.
5
Proud men have hidden a snare for me;
they
have spread out the cords of their net
and
have set traps for me along my path.
Selah
6
O LORD, I say to you, "You are my God."
Hear,
O LORD, my cry for mercy.
7
O Sovereign LORD, my strong deliverer,
who
shields my head in the day of battle--
8
do not grant the wicked their desires, O LORD;
do
not let their plans succeed,
or
they will become proud.
Selah
9
Let the heads of those who surround me
be
covered with the trouble their lips have caused.
10Let
burning coals fall upon them;
may
they be thrown into the fire,
into
miry pits, never to rise. [7]
11
Let slanderers not be established in the land;
may
disaster hunt down men of violence.
12
I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor
and
upholds the cause of the needy.
13
Surely the righteous will praise your name
and
the upright will live before you. [8]
PROVERBS: 20
20
1 Wine is a mocker and
beer a brawler;
whoever
is led astray by them is not wise.
2
A king's wrath is like the roar of a lion;
he
who angers him forfeits his life.
3
It is to a man's honor to avoid strife,
but
every fool is quick to quarrel.
4
A sluggard does not plow in season;
so
at harvest time he looks but finds nothing.
5
The purposes of a man's heart are deep waters,
but
a man of understanding draws them out.
6
Many a man claims to have unfailing love,
but
a faithful man who can find?
7
The righteous man leads a blameless life;
blessed
are his children after him.
8
When a king sits on his throne to judge,
he
winnows out all evil with his eyes.
9
Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure;
I
am clean and without sin"?
10
Differing weights and differing measures--
the
LORD detests them both.
11
Even a child is known by his actions,
by
whether his conduct is pure and right. [9]
12
Ears that hear and eyes that see--
the
LORD has made them both.
13
Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;
stay
awake and you will have food to spare.
14
"It's no good, it's no good!" says the
buyer;
then
off he goes and boasts about his purchase.
15
Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,
but
lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.
16
Take the garment of one who puts up security for a
stranger;
hold
it in pledge if he does it for a wayward woman.
17
Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man,
but
he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
18
Make plans by seeking advice;
if
you wage war, obtain guidance.
19
A gossip betrays a confidence;
so
avoid a man who talks too much.
20
If a man curses his father or mother,
his
lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.
21
An inheritance quickly gained at the beginning
will
not be blessed at the end.
22
Do not say, "I'll pay you back for this
wrong!"
Wait
for the LORD, and he will deliver you.[10]
23
The LORD detests differing weights,
and
dishonest scales do not please him.
24
A man's steps are directed by the LORD.
How
then can anyone understand his own way?
25
It is a trap for a man to dedicate something rashly
and
only later to consider his vows.
26
A wise king winnows out the wicked;
he
drives the threshing wheel over them.
27
The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man A;
it
searches out his inmost being.
28
Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;
through
love his throne is made secure.
29
The glory of young men is their strength,
gray
hair the splendor of the old.
30
Blows and wounds cleanse away evil,
and
beatings purge the inmost being. [11]
OLD TESTAMENT: 1 SAMUEL 12:1 - 13:23
12 1
Samuel said to all Israel, "I have listened to
everything you said to me and have set a king over you.
2 Now
you have a king as your leader. As for me, I am old and gray, and my sons are
here with you. I have been your leader from my youth until this day. 3 Here
I stand. Testify against me in the presence of the LORD and his anointed. Whose
ox have I taken? Whose donkey have I taken? Whom have I cheated? Whom have I
oppressed? From whose hand have I accepted a bribe to make me shut my eyes? If
I have done any of these, I will make it right."
4 "You
have not cheated or oppressed us," they replied. "You have not taken
anything from anyone's hand."
5 Samuel
said to them, "The LORD is witness against you, and also his anointed is
witness this day, that you have not found anything in my hand."
"He is
witness," they said.
6 Then
Samuel said to the people, "It is the LORD who appointed Moses and Aaron
and brought your forefathers up out of Egypt. 7 Now then, stand
here, because I am going to confront you with evidence before the LORD as to
all the righteous acts performed by the LORD for you and your fathers.
8 "After
Jacob entered Egypt, they cried to the LORD for help, and the LORD sent Moses
and Aaron, who brought your forefathers out of Egypt and settled them in this
place.
9 "But
they forgot the LORD their God; so he sold them into the hand of Sisera, the
commander of the army of Hazor, and into the [12]
hands of the Philistines and the king of Moab, who fought against them. 10
They cried out to the LORD and said, `We have sinned; we have forsaken
the LORD and served the Baals and the Ashtoreths. But now deliver us from the
hands of our enemies, and we will serve you.' 11 Then the LORD sent
Jerub-Baal, A Barak, B Jephthah and Samuel, C and he delivered you from the
hands of your enemies on every side, so that you lived securely.
12 "But
when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said
to me, `No, we want a king to rule over us'--even though the LORD your God was
your king. 13 Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you
asked for; see, the LORD has set a king over you. 14 If you fear the
LORD and serve and obey him and do not rebel against his commands, and if both
you and the king who reigns over you follow the LORD your God--good! 15 But
if you do not obey the LORD, and if you rebel against his commands, his hand
will be against you, as it was against your fathers.
16 "Now
then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your
eyes! 17 Is it not wheat harvest now? I will call upon the LORD to
send thunder and rain. And you will realize what an evil thing you did in the
eyes of the LORD when you asked for a king."
18 Then
Samuel called upon the LORD, and that same day the LORD sent thunder and rain.
So all the people stood in awe of the LORD and of Samuel.
19 The
people all said to Samuel, "Pray to the LORD your God for [13]your
servants so that we will not die, for we have added to all our other sins the
evil of asking for a king."
20 "Do
not be afraid," Samuel replied. "You have done all this evil; yet do
not turn away from the LORD, but serve the LORD with all your heart. 21 Do
not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue
you, because they are useless. 22 For the sake of his great name the
LORD will not reject his people, because the LORD was pleased to make you his
own. 23 As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the
LORD by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and
right. 24 But be sure to fear the LORD and serve him faithfully with
all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you. 25 Yet
if you persist in doing evil, both you and your king will be swept away."
13 1
Saul was thirty A years old when he became
king, and he reigned over Israel forty- B two years.
2 Saul
C chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him
at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan
at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.
3 Jonathan
attacked the Philistine outpost at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it.
Then Saul had the trumpet blown throughout the land and said, "Let the
Hebrews hear!" 4 So all Israel heard the news: "Saul has
attacked the Philistine outpost, and now Israel has become a stench to the
Philistines." And the people were [14]summoned
to join Saul at Gilgal.
5 The
Philistines assembled to fight Israel, with three thousand D chariots,
six thousand charioteers, and soldiers as numerous as the sand on the seashore.
They went up and camped at Micmash, east of Beth Aven. 6 When the
men of Israel saw that their situation was critical and that their army was
hard pressed, they hid in caves and thickets, among the rocks, and in pits and
cisterns. 7 Some Hebrews even crossed the Jordan to the land of Gad
and Gilead.
Saul remained at Gilgal,
and all the troops with him were quaking with fear. 8 He waited
seven days, the time set by Samuel; but Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and
Saul's men began to scatter. 9 So he said, "Bring me the burnt
offering and the fellowship offerings. E" And Saul offered up
the burnt offering. 10Just as he finished making the offering,
Samuel arrived, and Saul went out to greet him.
11 "What
have you done?" asked Samuel.
Saul replied, "When
I saw that the men were scattering, and that you did not come at the set time,
and that the Philistines were assembling at Micmash, 12 I thought,
`Now the Philistines will come down against me at Gilgal, and I have not sought
the LORD's favor.' So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering."
13 "You
acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the
LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over
Israel for all time. 14 But now your kingdom will not endure; the
LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his
people, because you [15]
have not kept the LORD's command."
15 Then
Samuel left Gilgal F and went up to Gibeah in Benjamin, and Saul
counted the men who were with him. They numbered about six hundred.
16 Saul
and his son Jonathan and the men with them were staying in GibeahG
in Benjamin, while the Philistines camped at Micmash. 17 Raiding
parties went out from the Philistine camp in three detachments. One turned
toward Ophrah in the vicinity of Shual, 18 another toward Beth
Horon, and the third toward the borderland overlooking the Valley of Zeboim
facing the desert.
19 Not
a blacksmith could be found in the whole land of Israel, because the
Philistines had said, "Otherwise the Hebrews will make swords or
spears!" 20 So all Israel went down to the Philistines to have
their plowshares, mattocks, axes and sickles H sharpened. 21 The
price was two thirds of a shekelI for sharpening plowshares and
mattocks, and a third of a shekelJ for sharpening forks and axes and
for repointing goads.
22 So
on the day of the battle not a soldier with Saul and Jonathan had a sword or
spear in his hand; only Saul and his son Jonathan had them.
23 Now
a detachment of Philistines had gone out to the pass at Micmash.[16]
NEW TESTAMENT: JOHN 7:1 - 30
7 1
After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely
staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life. 2
But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, 3 Jesus'
brothers said to him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that
your disciples may see the miracles you do. 4 No one who wants to
become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show
yourself to the world."
5 For
even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6 Therefore
Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not
yet come; for you any time is right. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what
it does is evil. 8 You go to the
Feast. I am not yet A going up to
this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." 9
Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
10 However,
after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in
secret. 11 Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and
asking, "Where is that man?"
12 Among
the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, "He is a
good man."
Others replied,
"No, he deceives the people." 13 But no one would say
anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
14 Not
until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin
to teach. 15 The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man
get such learning without having studied?"
16 Jesus
answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes
from [17]him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether
my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself,
but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there
is nothing false about him. 19 Has
not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you
trying to kill me?"
20 "You
are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill
you?"
21 Jesus
said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all
astonished. 22 Yet, because Moses
gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the
patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23 Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that
the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the
whole man on the Sabbath? 24 Stop
judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment."
25 At
that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the
man they are trying to kill?
26 Here
he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the
authorities really concluded that he is the Christ B? 27 But
we know where this man is from; when the Christ comes, no one will know where
he is from."
8 Then
Jesus, still teaching in the temple courts, cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not
here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, 29 but I know [18] him because I am from him and he sent me."
30 At
this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time
had not yet come. [19]
[1]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[2]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[3]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[4]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[5]
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Bible NIV.
Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia Inc. All Rights Reserved
[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
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[13] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[14] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[15] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[16] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
Inc. All Rights Reserved
[17] Excerpted from Compton's
Interactive Bible NIV. Copyright (c) 1994, 1995, 1996 SoftKey Multimedia
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
Inc. All Rights Reserved
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